Valverde wins Valenciana’s queen stage to extend race lead

Alejandro Valverde put in a spectacular show on the steepest section of the final climb to the line of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana’s queen stage to take the win and all but wrap up the race victory.

Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) attacked several times on the final climb but he could not follow when Valverde bridged up to him inside the final 200m.

“The first thing I want to do is thank my whole team because their work all day was impressive,” Valverde said after the stage. “The start was really, really fast, with attacks everywhere and not many teams wanting to keep things calm. Sky even tried to go all-in into the first ascent towards Cocentaina, after the Benillup climbs.

“When Kwiatkowski attacked, we tried to keep him at a short distance first, but later on realized that we had to let him go because we would be wasting some precious weapons if we tried to keep him on a leash. They then tried to get a third man at the front, and that’s where I went myself to chase him. The good thing was that my teammates were able to stay strong and keep things a little bit more controlled in the following phase, so I could stay calm until the end. There’s no way I couldn’t finish things off for them, I had to pay them back. This win really feels great. I keep this yellow jersey and obtaining a second win in just seven days of racing … I honestly don’t know if I’m stronger than before the injury.”

?? #VCV2018 @alejanvalverde #VamosBala pic.twitter.com/jEiIge2eiN

— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) February 3, 2018

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2018 – stage 4 results (Orihuela – Cocentaina):

General classification after stage 4: