GB's Chris Froome set to complete Tour-Vuelta double
Froome third on penultimate stage to extend lead to more than two minutes
Froome will become first British winner of the race
Alberto Contador wins stage 20 in his final race
Sunday's stage to Madrid largely processional
And that's where I'm going to leave it for today. The report on today's stage is taking shape.
Thanks for reading and you're input this afternoon. We'll be back from 16:00 BST on Sunday to watch Chris Froome complete his quest to become the first British rider to win the Vuelta.
It's a twilight finish in Madrid so we'll have all the build-up and the post-race reaction. Be sure to join us.
Great question Matt. And one that has been at the forefront of my mind for a few days now. A Giro-Tour double next season?
Only two riders have won three in a row - Eddy Merckx, who actually did four, in winning the Giro, Tour, Vuelta, Giro across 1972 and 1973 in the years when the Vuelta was raced earlier in the season.
Bernard Hinault won the Giro and Tour in 1982 and then followed that with the 1983 Vuelta.
Liam Watson: Fairytale ending to a brilliant Contador career but history maker Chris Froome does again absolutely brilliant by him & @TeamSky, external#bbccycling, external
Matt Taggart: Now the question is does Froome aim for the Giro next year to hold all three at the same time, or go for a TdF dynasty? #bbccycling, external
Are there tears there from Chris Froome? I'm not sure. He looks to be sneezing a heck of a lot too.
One thing is for certain, that smile is going to linger for some time.
He has cameras galore in his face and is receiving bigger hugs than you'd give your kids on their return from their first day at school.
1. Alberto Contador (Spa/Trek-Segafredo) 3hrs 31mins 33secs
2. Wout Poels (Ned/Team Sky) +17secs
3. Chris Froome (GB/Team Sky) Same time
4. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus/Katusha-Alpecin) +35secs
5. Franco Pellizotti (Ita/Bahrain-Merida) +51secs
6. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita/Bahrain-Merida) Same time
7. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned/LottoNL-Jumbo)
8. Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Team Sunweb) +1min 11secs
9. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R La Mondiale) +1min 25secs
10. Michael Woods (Can/Cannondale-Drapac) +1min 36secs
BBC Sport's chief sports writer Tom Fordyce: "Brilliant from Froome, surviving everything his rivals and this cruel climb could throw at him to make history once again. Local delight in Contador's valedictory win,
"British joy at what Froome has done over the past five seasons - four Tour de France titles, the first Briton to win the Vuelta, only the third man in history to win the Tour and Vuelta in the same season. He has earned it the hard way."
Chris Froome had a huge grin on his face as he crossed the finish line.
And so long as he doesn't do anything daft tomorrow, like crash, he will win the Vuelta a Espana by two minutes, 15 seconds from Italy's Vincenzo Nibali.
And Chris Froome crosses the finish line 17 seconds or so behind and when he crosses the line in Madrid on Sunday he will complete the Tour-Vuelta double.
* he has to cross the finish line in what is a largely processional stage to the Spanish capital to complete his victory.
Image source, EPAAlberto Contador makes a grand gesture to the few fans at the top as he crosses the line.
Image source, AFPAlberto Contador is out of his saddle for one last time. He reaches a summit with 800m remaining and the road drops down. It looks like he will win his final stage.
Froome is within 25 seconds but it's going to be a little too late. Not that he'll be too bothered, I guess.
They can't, can they?
Wout Poels is setting a furious pace and Froome is digging in to try and keep pace with his team-mate. Can they catch Bertie?
Contador looks over his shoulder as he rounds another hairpin. He knows Froome is coming...
Chris Froome continues to push on. He has Team Sky team-mate Wout Poels for company. They have left Nibali.
Their efforts have closed the gap on Alberto Contador to 30 seconds...
Is this the moment for Chris Froome? He doesn't attack but suddenly Vincenzo Nibali is losing time here.
He drops two, three, four, five metres off the pace.
Froome suddenly senses it and stomps on his pedals. He's going to do the Tour-Vuelta double.
There may not be many spectators at the finish, but there are hundreds a couple of kilometres from the finish.
Alberto Contador continues to bob and weave through them as he makes his slow journey to the top. Just the 23% gradient for him.
Alberto Contador is down to walking pace as the security guards continue to try and push the crowds back.
Thankfully for him, so is Stephen Kruijswijk behind him and Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali a little further down the road.
With 2.5km remaining, Nibali has to go soon you feel.
Stevie Bees: "With the final day of Vuelta a procession a la TdF, what happens if leader falls and unable to finish? #bbccycling, external
The race leader has to cross the finish line in Madrid. If they don't, they haven't completed the race and whoever was second going into the stage takes the win.
The television pictures of the peloton are few and far between as the director follows Alberto Contador as he tackles a 20% ramp. The crowds are encroaching, car horns are beeping and it's all getting a little chaotic.
Contador's lead is up to 75 seconds. Are they going to let Bertie take the glory?
Stephen Kruijswijk of the Lotto-Jumbo team isn't in the mood for charity as he leaps clear and immediately closes to 55 seconds.
Alberto Contador, who has won seven Grand Tours, including three Vuelta a Espana's in a glittering career, is grimacing as he toils up the Angliru.
He's had his dark moments with a doping ban and having one Tour de France and one Giro d'Italia title stripped from him - he strenuously denied the accusations - but this would be a sensational end to his career.
Marc Soler suddenly looks like he's pedalling through tar.
Alberto Contador looks over his shoulder and sees the Movistar rider disappearing backwards. He jumps out of his saddle and starts dancing on his pedals.
His lead is up to almost a minute. But the road is about to start ramping up again. There are sections of gradient at 24% in the final couple of kilometres and others in the high teens. This stage is far from over.
The local constabulary are doing all they can to keep the fans back but one has just almost knocked Contador off his bike.
The Spaniard was crawling around a hairpin and collided with a spectator. And seconds later, he almost takes a carrier bag out of someone's hands.
Marc Soler, to give him his due, waited for his fellow Spaniard, but would he be brave enough to challenge Contador if it came down to it in the final run-in?
They lead Froome's group by 40 seconds.