Vuelta Stage 4: Alejandro Valverde wins, Esteban Chaves keeps overall lead

World number one Alejandro Valverde of Movistar has won Stage 4 of the 2015 Vuelta in Vejer de la Frontera, the Spanish champion's ninth career stage win in his home Grand Tour.

On a tough finish in the Andalucian hilltop town, Valverde beat Peter Sagan of Tinkoff-Saxo into second place, with the Katusha rider Daniel Moreno third.

Team Sky’s Nicholas Roche, third overall, was on his own at the head of the race going up the final ramp to the finish but was caught just ahead of the line and finished fourth, with Orica-GreenEdge’s Esteban Chaves retaining the red jersey.

Today’s 209.6 kilometre stage from Estepona was largely flat but had a sting in its tail in the shape of a steep climb, the toughest part of which was around a kilometre long, that started with around 4 kilometres remaining.

With the ascent preceded by a sharp right-hand bend, there was plenty of jostling for position before the road headed upwards, with the peloton strung out as the road headed upwards.

Pello Bilbao of Caja Rural led the group up the climb and under the 2 kilometre to go banner, where BMC Racing’s Samuel Sanchez sprang an attack as the gradient eased off and went into a downhill section, the former Olympic champion followed by Roche.

A final ramp of up to 14 per cent awaited in the final 500 metres, with Roche hitting it first but Valverde, whose style of riding is tailor made to this type of terrain, overhauled the Team Sky rider as did Sagan and Moreno.