Martin denied stage win

Ireland’s Dan Martin went desperately close to snatching a stage win on the 13th stage of the Vuelta A Espana as victory went to Spaniard Daniel Navarro, who was rewarded for a daring late attack.

Navarro (Cofidis) escaped from the pack inside the final 3km and won by two seconds from Daniel Moreno (Katusha) and third-placed Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) with Martin crossing the line in ninth place, a further three seconds back and thus remaining 11th overall at 3:59.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) was also five seconds behind in seventh to retain the leader’s red jersey, with the top of the overall rankings largely unchanged.