Today's stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía covered 194 kilometers, making it the longest section on this tour. The route began in Tebujena and ended in Montilla with a minor climb facing riders in the final sprint. Yesterday's stage winner Jonathan Hivert (Sojasun) triumphed once again to celebrate his second consecutive day’s victory, relegating Tyler Farrar (Garmin Sharp) and Francesco Lasca (Caja Rural) to second and third place. Team NetApp-Endura's Iker Camano crossed the finish line in 12^th place.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) continues to lead in the general classification. The best ranked rider for Team NetApp-Endura in the general classification is David de la Cruz in 37th place with a 2:21 minute deficit behind the leader.

Today three breakaway riders were once again able to pull away from the field early on. Nevertheless, the field always managed to stay in control on the undulating terrain and began to pick up the pace at just the right time. The faster speed in field, however, also caused the peloton to break up into individual groups at times due to a strong crosswind. All breakaway riders were caught 15 kilometers before the finish line and the field was back together. It was only on the final climb, 3 kilometers before the finish line, that several riders had to pay the price for the fast pace at the front of the group.

"It was a really difficult stage today. The weather wasn't the best. The wind caused a hectic race with a few crashes. Although we weren't affected, the guys had to work hard along the route. On the climb before the finish line, Iker indicated that his legs were good today and that he believed he could finish in a top position. His 12^th place finish as well as Jan Barta's 17^th place finish are absolutely satisfactory after such a hard day," Alex Sans Vega said after the stage.

"Tomorrow's profile could cause a larger group to break away on the final climbs. We will ride attentively and try to be in that group no matter what. The profile should be a good fit for us, and if we are in good form our strategy should work," said Alex Sans Vega, looking ahead to tomorrow's stage.

The final stage of the Tour of Andalusia covers 183 kilometers and is the most demanding on the tour with six mountain classifications. The race will start in Lucena where a category-three mountain classification awaits riders at the outset, followed by a category-one climb. There are then four more climbs in short succession on the last 60 kilometers. The three final kilometers are slightly sloping.

Website of Vuelta a Andalucia

1. Stage       San Fernando – San Fernando       6 km (Prologue)
2. Stage       San Fernando – Ubrique                163,9 km
3. Stage       Trebujena – Montilla                193,3 km
4. Stage       Lucena – Rincon de la Victoria       182,7