Tadej Pogacar won the fourth stage and retook the overall lead of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana after breaking clear of his rivals on the final climb to snatch victory.
The Slovenian attacked half-way up a brutal 5.1 kilometre climb at the end of a 170km run from Calp to Altea. Pogacar caught the lone survivor of a three-man breakaway, Greg Van Avermaet, on a slope where gradients reached 20 per cent.
Wout Poels gave chase but could not close the gap and finished second, at the head of a small knot of pursuers, six seconds back.
Tao Geoghan Har was third as overnight leader, Jack Haig of Mitchelton Scott, finished fifth.
Pogacar enters the final stage on Sunday, a largely flat 98km-run from Paterna to Valencia, leading Haig by six seconds.
??@TamauPogi of ??@TeamUAEAbuDhabi wins stage 4 of ??@VueltaCV #VCV #VCV2020 (?@Eurosport_ES) pic.twitter.com/S0785rewiA
— World Cycling Stats (@wcsbike) February 8, 2020
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2020 – stage 4 results (Calp – Altea):
| 1 | Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) | 4:22:03 |
| 2 | Wouter Poels (Bahrain McLaren) | +06” |
| 3 | Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Ineos) | ,, |
| 4 | Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) | ,, |
| 5 | Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 6 | Dylan Teuns (Bahrain McLaren) | +23” |
| 7 | Ion Izagirre (Astana) | +32” |
| 8 | Sander Armee (Lotto Soudal) | +42” |
| 9 | Oscar Rodriguez (Astana) | +45” |
| 10 | Ruben Fernandez (Fundacion-Orbea) | +49” |
Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2020 – general classification after stage 4:
| 1 | Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) | 16:38:28 |
| 2 | Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) | +06” |
| 3 | Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Ineos) | ,, |
| 4 | Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) | +13” |
| 5 | Dylan Teuns (Bahrain McLaren) | +23” |
| 6 | Wouter Poels (Bahrain McLaren) | +25” |
| 7 | Ion Izagirre (Astana) | +32” |
| 8 | Ruben Fernandez (Fundacion-Orbea) | +49” |
| 9 | Oscar Rodriguez (Astana) | +01’11” |
| 10 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) | +01’14” |
