Yesterday’s mountain stage at the Volta a Catalunya saw a classical one-two move by Team Movistar as Quintana made a decisive attack to win the stage while simultaneously allowing teammate Valverde to follow the wheels of his closest rivals to assume the overall lead.

Colombian Nairo Quintana took the day's honours, the fifth success for the team so far this season, with a powerful attack on the final slope, the steepest section on the climb, into the final 500 meters. His move, which countered an attack by reigning Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins (Sky), was followed by an acceleration by Joaquím Rodríguez (Kat), closely watched by Alejandro

Valverde, who protected his team-mate's chances. Quintana, who thus claimed his 10th pro victory after having just turned 23 years old, came across the finish with six seconds over Valverde, Rodríguez and Wiggins, which puts Valverde in the lead of the overall classification as Nairo jumps into 6th.

“The headwind into the final climb was the key,” explained Valverde afterwards. “It would have been stupid to try and make a move because you would end up losing energy and not opening any gaps. Everyone was waiting for the final kilometre and some time gaps were created even though it was all played out within such a short distance.”

Prior to the stage, the Movistar team had identified Rodriguez as the rider to watch. “I kept a watchful eye on Rodriguez because I knew he was going to give it a try, but Nairo was wise and anticipated his move. Even though we're all on the limit in such stages, my legs were rather good. It was a perfect day for us with my leader’s jersey and Nairo's victory. I'm as happy with him winning as if I had won the stage myself, because it's his first this season, and I think it will be really important for him. The team was sensational all day, keeping the gaps to the break short and taking efforts on the riders pushing through the climb. We're getting the lead and there's still a long way to go, but you're confident when you have such team-mates - they're a strong guarantee. Tomorrow's [Thursday’s] stage is going be a really, really hard one, harder than today. We'll be reaching heights over 2,000 meters above sea level again and the finish is steep, especially after a 217 km stage. We'll see how it all ends."

Starting at 15.15 Cyclingquotes.com will be bringing you live coverage from the 4th stage of the Volta a Catalunya.