A stage that seemed tailor-made to be the relax day before the mountainous showdown of the 2013 Vuelta a España -189km of mainly flat roads between Calahorra and Burgos- ended up bringing nerves, high speeds and gaps between some of the top contenders in the overall classification.

Crosswinds in the plains en route to the Castilian capital offered the Movistar Team a chance to show up at the front with 30km to go and break the bunch into three groups, the first echelon including Moreno, Herrada, Erviti, Gutiérrez and an always attentive Alejandro Valverde.

At the front, Bauke Mollema (BEL) surprised everyone with a late attack into the final 800 metres and opened up a gap the sprinters could never close. Valverde remained 3rd overall, 1’14” down on Vincenzo Nibali (AST) as the riders face a trio of mountain stages which are set to be nothing but exciting. Thursday will bring the first chapter, with the Peña Cabarga ascent (Cat-1; 6km at 9.2%) after 187 with four other rated climbs starting from Burgos.

"Today seemed like the most calm day before Madrid, but it's becoming clear that this is a Vuelta in which one has to pay attention every day, from start to finish,” Valverde said. “We knew it could be dangerous because of the wind - despite it blowing into our heads for most of the stage, there could be some changes. We had to stay focused and well placed in the finale - and we did. The speed caused the group splitting up; we continued to push at the front, mostly with Saxo. It was a matter of going full gas until the finish - the team was superb again, protected me perfectly and we got over the day, we must be happy. The rest day was good for us even though the legs felt a bit stiff in the beginning. One of the decisive days comes tomorrow with a finish I never climbed to. Despite knowing most of the Vuelta route, there are still places that are unknown to me - Peña Cabarga is one of them. I chose not to go and recon those sites after the Tour, because it's not such a problem if you're on form."