Flat, but with an uphill finish.



88km to go

The rain is coming out of the sky when Valverde wins the first intermediate sprint.

73km to go

The Spaniard also takes the second one.

22km to go

22 kilometers left and the first 4 riders attack! Kreuziger, Betancur, Roche and Horner are their names.

10km to go

10 kilometers left and they still have a 1 minute lead! A small 6-rider chasing group has been formed, but can they reach the four? Basso has been dropped in the meantime.

1000m to go

It looks like they will make it! Kreuziger attacks into the final kilometer!

500m to go

But Betancur is faster, and he overtakes him! Valverde has managed to sneak away from the peleton and is approaching the leaders. 5 riders have been dropped from the peleton, including Froome and Porte.

0m to go

It's the Colombian who takes the victory! Carlos Betancur beats Chris Horner and Roman Kreuziger in the uphill sprint. Valverde just overtakes Roche for fourth and is only 7 seconds behind Purito now.



Stage:

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Carlos Betancur	AG2R La Mondiale	4h47'27
2	Chris Horner	RadioShack - Leopard	+ 8
3	Roman Kreuziger	Team Saxo - Tinkoff	s.t.
4	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	+ 32
5	Nicolas Roche	Rapha Condor - JLT	s.t.

GC:

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	46h51'08
2	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	+ 7
3	Carlos Betancur	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 2'09
4	Roman Kreuziger	Team Saxo - Tinkoff	+ 2'18
5	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin - Sharp	+ 2'29

Points:

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	170
2	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	148
3	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin - Sharp	129

Mountains:

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	97
2	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana Pro Team	79
3	Chris Froome	Sky Procycling	64

Only the final kilometers will probably count.



143km to go

Valverde takes the mountain sprint, unfortunately for him without bonus seconds.

108km to go

He also takes the first intermediate sprint, for 6 seconds. He's now just 1 second behind Purito.

55km to go

And Valverde is now the virtual leader, 3 seconds ahead of Rodriguez, who gets 2 bonus seconds here.

19km to go

A seven-rider attack ladies and gentlemen! Basso, Van Garderen, Van den Broeck, Pinot, Uran, Porte and Froome.

8000m to go

Their max. lead was 30 seconds, and they were caught by the peleton. We are heading for a mass sprint now.

1000m to go

I was right this time. Wiggins is in the lead now, but he still has a long way to go.

500m to go

Roche versus Porte. But Hesjedal and Mollema are coming like a rocket from the back!

0m to go

But the Irishman can hold on! Nicholas Roche wins here in Ferrol. Hesjedal second, Mollema third, Porte fourth. Neither Rodriguez nor Valverde gets additional bonus seconds, thus Valverde is the new red jersey wearer.



Stage:

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Nicolas Roche	Rapha Condor - JLT	4h26'26
2	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin - Sharp	s.t.
3	Bauke Mollema	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
4	Richie Porte	Orica - GreenEdge	s.t.
5	Jakob Fuglsang	Team Cult Energy	s.t.

GC:

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	51h17'29
2	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	+ 3
3	Carlos Betancur	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 2'14
4	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin - Sharp	+ 2'18
5	Roman Kreuziger	Team Saxo - Tinkoff	+ 2'23

Points:

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	178
2	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	159
3	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin - Sharp	151

Mountains:

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	97
2	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana Pro Team	79
3	Chris Froome	Sky Procycling	68

Back to the mountains!



143km to go

4 mountain sprints today, and no intermediate. The first one is won by Rodriguez, in his new green jersey.

76km to go

It's still a long way to go, but 2 riders are attacking! Pinot (wins the second mountain sprint) and Basso. They are second-a-last and last in the GC, so they are allowed to go away by the peleton.

59km to go

The Frenchman also winst the third mountain sprint. They are already 5 and a half minute ahead of the peleton! 1 and a half minute more and Pinot will be the new, virtual GC-leader.

25km to go

The gap raised to 9 and a half minute, but is already down to 8 minutes. Basso won the fourth and last mountain sprint of today, and Pinot is the virtual GC-leader.

5000m to go

5 kilometers to go and they're still 2 minutes ahead. The peleton is completely scattered in small groups, and constant attacking. Froome is alone, about 30 seconds ahead of a small group with Valverde and Rodriguez.

2000m to go

The gap is down to 1 minute, can they hold on? Froome is 40 seconds ahead of Rodriguez, who is 20 seconds ahead of a group with other favourites.

500m to go

Pinot and Basso are sprinting for victory! The Frenchman is ahead!

0m to go

It's the second stage victory for Thibaut Pinot! He beats Basso in a sprint-a-deux. Froome will cross the line 1 minute later, followed by Rodriguez 40 second later. The Spaniard grabs the red jersey, the jersey he lost yesterday.



Stage:

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Thibaut Pinot	FDJ.fr	4h16'06
2	Ivan Basso	Cannondale Pro Cycling	s.t.
3	Chris Froome	Sky Procycling	+ 1'11
4	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	+ 1'52
5	Richie Porte	Orica - GreenEdge	+ 2'18

GC:

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	55h35'30
2	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	+ 23
3	Chris Froome	Sky Procycling	+ 2'28
4	Roman Kreuziger	Team Saxo - Tinkoff	+ 2'46
5	Chris Horner	RadioShack - Leopard	+ 3'02

Points:

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	183
2	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	173
3	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin - Sharp	153

Mountains:

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	129
2	Chris Froome	Sky Procycling	107
3	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana Pro Team	87

Another battle up the mountains.



110km to go

Inspired by yesterday's succeful attack from Pinot and Basso, we might see the same thing happen again. Evans and Sanchez are pretty early with their attack.

106km to go

Evans wins the first mountain sprint. In the background, we can see 3 more attackers, Fuglsang, Van Garderen and Basso for the second day in a row. The peleton is already more than a minute behind.

49km to go

The two groups merge to form the 5 man break, with GC numbers 20-24. And what's this? There is actually a sprint for the intermediate sprint, and it's won by Sanchez! And now, hold on to your seats please. The gap is 14 minutes! 14 minutes! Evans is virtual leader at the moment. The remaining peleton will have a hard time brining them back.

38km to go

However, they don't care for the mountain sprint, which is won by Basso. The gap is just under 16 minutes now! What's happening?

22km to go

Another sprint, won by Evans this time. The gap is constantly around 15 and a half minute, the peleton is doing nothing at all to bring them back.

16km to go

Van Garderen realises that this may be his chance at the red jersey, so he attacks out of the front group.

5000m to go

The American is still ahead when we reach the 5km-mark. Meanwhile, the battle in the peleton 13 minutes behind them is on, with Nibali having a small gap to the others.

1000m to go

But TJ gets caught. Sanchez has a small gap going into the final kilometer.

0m to go

Samuel Sanchez wins today's stage, his second in this Vuelta. Evans finishes second and is the new GC-leader. Fuglsang beats Van Garderen in a sprint for third place, Basso becomes fifth. Now, we have to wait for the others.


Nibali crosses the line 10 minutes later, ahead of the peleton. Valverde looses 1 minute to Rodriguez.



Stage:

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Samuel Sánchez	Euskaltel - Euskadi	4h57'23
2	Cadel Evans	Drapac Cycling	+ 50
3	Jakob Fuglsang	Team Cult Energy	+ 1'31
4	Tejay Van Garderen	BMC Racing Team	+ 1'39
5	Ivan Basso	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 2'48

GC:

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Cadel Evans	Drapac Cycling	60h40'51
2	Samuel Sánchez	Euskaltel - Euskadi	+ 32
3	Jakob Fuglsang	Team Cult Energy	+ 1'30
4	Tejay Van Garderen	BMC Racing Team	+ 2'23
5	Ivan Basso	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 2'44

Points:

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	183
2	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	176
3	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin - Sharp	154

Mountains:

Rank	Name	Team	Points
1	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	131
2	Chris Froome	Sky Procycling	112
3	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana Pro Team	98