Known as a climber, Valerio Agnoli showed his sprinting skills when he finished fourth in the Clasica de Almeria.

“For only 10 centimetres, I’m not on the podium," he said.

Agnoli was helped by his teammates to stay in the best positions of the bunch, just before the final sprint won by the Brit Mark Cavendish. The race was marked by the strong wind so that at 40 km to go the group broke in two with Astana Pro Team riders in the front.

After two one-day races in Spain, the Volta ao Algarve, a five-stage race in the south of Portugal, begins on Wednesday.