For the second day in a row, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won a sprint for the minor placings when the Spaniard edged out Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) in the battle for second in the uphill finish on stage 3 of the Vuelta a Espana. The Movistar captain hadn't even planned to go for the win but race circumstances forced him to the front of the race.

For the second day in a row, Alejandro Valverde faced a Vuelta stage that was perfectly suited to his characteristics and for the second day in a row, he lost out. Yesterday he won the sprint from the group of favourites to take 5th and today's sprint win allowed him to take 2nd behind winner Chris Horner (Radioshack).

Yesterday his Movistar team had done an awful lot of work to keep everything together for a sprint but ran of power towards the end of the stage. Today they team had a completely different approach as Valverde didn't intend to go for the win. That may have proved costly as a couple of Movistar riders on the front may have been enough to reel in Horner.

"The stage ended up being really hard," Valverde said. "It's sad I missed out on the victory because I had the legs and the finish suited me well. Actually, we didn't plan to contest it but the race development forces you to get up front - there's Purito who came in 3rd. You can't sit up, and it's also important to get some bonus seconds."

The stage was mostly characterized by fierce crosswinds and a big crash that broke the peloton to pieces. Movistar tried to exploit the situation, putting riders on the front and accelerating over a bridge that led them onto a small island.

However, Valverde insisted that he didn't plan to attack and just intended to stay safe.

"The team paid attention in all phases of the race and took me to the front wherever it was needed - a difficult day because of the wind required focus," he said. "We were alerted by the team radio there was a crash behind, and there was tension at the front but if you ride on the front, any crashes or gaps can easier be avoided."

"The situation was almost unavoidable because the passage of the bridge was crazy - that separator in the middle of the road was bonkers. Galicia is beautiful... but mostly on holiday. This Vuelta will be really long and we must keep going day by day, but I'm feeling strong at the moment."

Valverde now has to survive a couple of easier stages until the GC battle resumes on Saturday. Starting at 15.00 you can follow tomorrow's stage on CyclingQuotes.com/live.