Adam Blythe finished third in the second stage of the Vuelta a España while his fellow Briton Chris Froome improved his overall standing.

Blythe crossed the line at the end of the 203.4km route from Nîmes to Gruissan just behind the Quick-Step Floors pair of Yves Lampaert and Matteo Trentin, with Team Sky’s Froome eight seconds off the pace in 16th.

Froome, who hopes to become only the third man to win the Vuelta and Tour de France in the same year, moved up to ninth overall, 21 seconds behind the stage winner and leader Lampaert, while the Sheffield‑born Blythe of Aqua Blue Sport is a further 18sec behind in 30th place.

After enduring a minor setback with a puncture in the final 75km Froome quickly came back to the peloton with the help of his team-mates. “We were probably a little bit short coming into the final few kilometres but I’m happy with that result as I think we did a great ride,” Froome said.

Sky set a very strong pace with 7km to go but the peloton was left behind when the Quick-Step Floors riders accelerated clear with 2km left despite strong crosswinds. Lampaert attacked again 1km from home and was rewarded with victory and the red jersey. He said: “We went full for the last three kilometres and they shouted at me to go – I knew I could ride one kilometre very fast and it worked out. At the moment I don’t know what’s happening; it’s really crazy for me.”

The 26-year-old Lampaert has a 1sec lead in the overall standings from his team-mate Trentin with another Italian, Daniel Oss, in third place.

Froome will be looking to make a decisive move when the 21-day race has its first mountain stage on Monday, a 158.5km ride through the Pyrenees from Prades Conflent Canigó to Andorra la Vella.

The Moroccan rider Anass Ait el Abdia of UAE Team Emirates and Javier Moreno of Bahrain Merida had to quit the event after being involved in a nasty crash some 60km from the finish line. It is the second time Moreno has been forced out of one of the major tours this year, having been disqualified from the Giro d’Italia for pushing Team Sky’s Diego Rosa.