Photo gallery: 2017 Vuelta a España, stages 10-15

The peloton has reached the second rest day of what has arguably been the toughest Grand Tour of the year: the Vuelta a España. And as many predicted, it’s the ever-consistent Chris Froome (Sky) that holds a strong, but not unreachable lead.

Riders have had to battle everything in this year’s race, from extreme heat to crosswinds to high-altitude finishes, and it seems as if there have been no easy days in this year’s race.

Froome currently leads Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) by just over a minute, while Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) is in third, another minute behind. And with three riders within 50 seconds of Zakarin’s third place, the composition of that final podium is far from assured.

Indeed, the battle for the podium is likely to go all the way to Madrid with the final week littered with mountain finishes and a tough time-trial directly after today’s rest day. There is sure to be much excitement in the six remaining stages but before the race restarts tomorrow, enjoy our gallery featuring the past week’s winners, losers and key moments.

: A familiar sight at this year’s Vuelta, Ian Stannard from Team Sky on the front of the peloton.

: Not quite the typical Vuelta weather. Riders had to battle both rain and crosswinds on stage 10.

: Matteo Trentin (Quickstep Floors) defended his points jersey lead from the breakaway…

: … while also taking his second stage win of the race in a two-man sprint against José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar).

: A large part of the media focus at the Vuelta has been on Alberto Contador, who’s racing his final Grand Tour.

: There was more rain on stage 11, but even that couldn’t stop Esteban Chaves from smiling.

: Christopher Juul-Jensen’s facial expression says it all.

: The Aqua Blue Team suffered a setback in their first ever Grand Tour with their team bus being destroyed in a fire. This didn’t stop them going on the attack during stage 11, however, courtesy of Stefan Denifl.

: If pictures could talk…

: Alberto Contador drives a select group.

: Miguel Ángel López (Astana) notched up his maiden Grand Tour stage victory on stage 11, at only 23 years old.

: Chris Froome sprints to second place.

: Esteban Chaves had a hard time on stage 11 losing almost two minutes to his general classification rivals and slipping down from second overall.

: With the news that Cannondale Drapac’s future for 2018 is not secure, Davide Villella is providing some welcome relief for the team by holding the mountains classification.

: Michael Woods (Cannondale Drapac) was in good spirits before the start of Stage 12. Woods sits eighth overall.

: Daan Oliver (LottoNL-Jumbo) gets medical treatment on the run following a crash.

: In his debut Grand Tour, Brendan Canty went on to finish a strong sixth on stage 12, having been part of the day-long breakaway.

: Chris Froome crashed twice after a mechanical and lost 20 seconds to his rivals.

: Froome scrambles to regain contact.

: Froome tries to limit his losses.

: It was a day of high drama at the Vuelta. Here, Contador climbs ahead of a crashed motorbike that narrowly avoided running over a spectator.

: Tomasz Marczynski won his second stage from the breakaway, holding off the chase by almost a minute.

: Alberto Contador managed to steal a precious 22 seconds on the other general classification men and 42 seconds on Froome.

: Contador has made a point of thanking the fans in what is his last Grand Tour.

: A bandaged Froome stands on the podium to receive the leader’s jersey.

: Stage 13 was hot and dry.

: Not your average spectators.

: Matteo Trentin (QuickStep-Floors) is by far the best sprinter at this year’s Vuelta. He won his third stage in a tough uphill kick that ended stage 13.

: Trentin thanks his teammate Tim Declercq.

: The heat took its toll on the stage winner.

: Will Froome be able to hold red until Madrid?

: Esteban Chaves on the attack up stage 14’s final climb.

: Contador drives the select general classification group.

: Froome looked under pressure but, in the end, only conceded bonus seconds to Nibali.

: Rafal Majka grinds up the final climb to take his first Vuelta stage win.

: The win was welcome relief for Majka who had come to the Vuelta with overall ambitions but fell ill during the first week.

: Fabio Aru has not looked at his best in this year’s Vuelta. The Italian Champion sits seventh overall while his teammate Lopez has won two stages and sits sixth.

: Chris Froome mingles with the public prior to the start of stage 15.

: Stage 15 finished in the high altitude mountain range of Sierra Nevada making it a brutal day for all.

: Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) has ridden a smart Vuelta. He’s been anonymous at times but is on track for his best ever Grand Tour result. He’s fourth overall going into the last week.