All was set for a well-known script when Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) put in one of his trademark accelerations inside the final kilometer of yesterday's mountain stage in the Volta a Catalunya. This time he was, however, countered by an impressive Nairo Quintana (Movistar) who soloed to his first WorldTour win. Despite the loss, Rodriguez was content with his performance.

This year's Volta a Catalunya is a very rare chance for Joaquin Rodriguez to compete in a mountainous WorldTour stage race without having to struggle on his time trial bike. Hence, it is no surprise that the Katusha captain has made it a target to go for a repeat of his 2010 in this year's race.

The Katusha team has made its intentions clear by fielding a squad containing all of its in-form climbers. With the likes of Simon Spilak, Denis Menchov, Alberto Losada, Daniel Moreno and Giampaolo Caruso, the Russian has the firepower to do some serious damage in the mountains.

Rodriguez has grown in maturity, and he showed this by entering the decisive 13-rider group in stage 1 when Bradley Wiggins (Sky) put the hammer down on the final descent. He was well-positioned for a serious tilt at overall victory as the race entered the mountains yesterday.

However, he came away from the first of two big mountain battles with a small defeat. When he put in his usually irresistible acceleration towards the end of the stage, Nairo Quintana countered at apparent ease. Behind, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was the consummate teammate who stayed on the wheel of Rodriguez before he finally outsprinted the Katusha rider to take over the leader's jersey and extend his advantage over last year's runner-up in the Giro.

Despite this, Rodriguez was content with his performance. The selection in the favourite group was limited in the early part of the final climb, and it was not until Bradley Wiggins' acceleration inside the final two kilometres that riders really started to drop off. Rodriguez' insisted, however, that it had been a hard day.

"It was hard climbing," he said. "It looked like we had a slow pace, but actually it was very cold and hard instead. In the end, the Movistar riders had the numbers, so they could handle this final part. I was slipstreaming Quintana, but in the end I could not follow him. Anyway, I am satisfied. In a stage like this it could have been worse. Instead I managed to gain something over other riders. My shape is good, so I am satisfied."

Rodriguez is now second overall 6 seconds behind Valverde. He will get another opportunity to deal his archrival a blow in today's 210 km queen stage with finishes atop the HC climb Port Ainé.

Starting at 15.15, you can follow Rodriguez' attempt to take over the lead live on CyclingQuotes.com/live.