Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was in a class of his own when he won today's Vuelta a Murcia on home soil. When his teammate Nairo Quintana failed to keep up with a late attack of Tiago Machado, the Spaniard took things into his own hands, closed the gap and easily won the sprint.

It's being an unstoppable start of the 2014 season for Alejandro Valverde. The Movistar Team's leader has conquered the Castillo de Lorca, finish of the 34th Vuelta a Murcia, after yet another excellent performance from his teammates on Saturday.

It was Enrique Sanz in charge of protecting the Blues' chances into the early, seven-man break of the day, held tight by the telephone squad who never let the gap grow to more than four minutes' advantage after Dayer Quintana suffered a crash after 17km which forced him to abandon. Luckily, there were no serious physical consequences, just abrasions to his right knee and hip

Movistar Team brought the break back and led the bunch on full steam through the Alto de Espuña (Cat-1), but in the flat prior to the Collado Bermejo (Cat-1), Jérôme Coppel (Cofidis) jumped away and opened a gap which got close to half a minute over the summit.

It was then, with 50km remaining, when Valverde jumped into the downhill and rode quickly to the Frenchman's rear wheel, later opening more than one minute's gap. However, the crosswinds, the work by CCC Polsat into the main pack and the lack of cooperation from his fellow escapee ruined that initial chance.

Caught with 15k, remaining, Valverde was protected by his teammates en route to the Fortaleza del Sol, where he would end up responding to an attack by Tiago Machado (NetApp-Endura) and finishing with his classic, explosive touch for a record 4th win - three as a stage race ('04, '07, '08), today's is only one-day conquest - in the Vuelta a Murcia, his fifth success of the season, Movistar Team's eighth in 2014 and the 78th in Bhis huge pro palmarès.

Behind, José Joaquín Rojas proved full recovery from his injury - as shown in Algarve - to complete the Blue success in 5th spot

Valverde was pleased to win his home race for the first time in six years.

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"I couldn't race it some years, and I came close to winning last season," he said. "I really wanted to get a victory at home. I had the confidence from last week's racing in Andalucía, but there were some teammates who could do well, too - we had to wait and value our chances when we were on the road. We still wanted to approach the climbs fast to make a selection into the group, and we succeeded.

"I chose to jump after Coppel to release some pressure off my teammates' shoulders. Even though we got more than one minute, I knew it was hard for the two of us to reach the finish, because we could open a gap when the wind blew on our tail, but once we took the turn in Totana, the group would catch us - that's how it happened, and that's why I preferred to save energy in the finale, making the others behind spend energy while our guys could sit on their wheels.

"When we saw how everyone was going, we decided to play my card again. Machado attacked really strong, and even though Nairo [Quintana] went with him in the beginning, he eventually went solo. He was making a serious gap and I decided to make a long attack. When I was reaching him, I took some breath to accelerate again - and it turned out well."

Valverde is now ready to play a support role in tomorrow's Clasica de Almeria which usually suits the sprinters.

"I dedicate this victory to all my family, who were present here, and to the Murcian fans, who support me all year and were impressive on the roads today," he said. "Tomorrow in Almería, it will be time to work hard and keep this chance alive, but this time for another teammate."