The Team Sky rider blew away the opposition to win by 29 seconds over the 40.2 kilometres course from Circuito de Navarra.

Froome, seeking to become only the third rider to win the Tour de France and Vuelta in the same year, clocked 47min 00sec to extend his lead in the latter stages.

He is now 1:58 clear of closest rival Vincenzo Nibali of Italy in the overall standings.

Wilco Kelderman finished second on the day.

The Dutch Team Sunweb rider now sits in third place overall, 2:40 behind Froome.

Nibali, riding for Bahrain-Merida, rode well to finish third today, 57 seconds off the pace, to remain second overall.

Russia's Katusha rider Ilnur Zakarin finished fourth on the day, a further two seconds back, and also lies fourth overall, 3:07 off the pace.

Trek-Segafredo's Alberto Contador lies in fifth place, 4:58 back, in the Spaniard's final race before retirement. 

Froome only now needs to avoid mishaps over the remaining five stages to seal a historic success.

This will not be straightforward, however, as tomorrow will mark another tricky summit finish at the end of a 180.5km stage from Villadiego to Los Machucos.

"The course suited him [Froome] but you still have to time it well and he showed again why he is considered to be one of the world's best time triallists today," Team Sky general manager Sir Dave Brailsford told Eurosport.

"But there are still some really hard stages coming up, the climbs are so steep and intense that there is no time to relax. 

"It's a difficult day tomorrow, and for the guys who went full today, we'll see how that impacts on them."