VEJER DE LA FRONTERA, Spain — Former champion Alejandro Valverde won the fourth stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Tuesday, while Colombian Esteban Chaves protected the leader’s jersey for a third day.
The 35-year-old Spanish veteran perfectly timed his late charge on the final uphill push and held off Peter Sagan to keep the Slovak from claiming a second straight stage before winning the 209.6-kilometre (130.2-mile) ride from Estepona to Vejer de la Frontera in just over five hours.
Valverde, who won the three-week Grand Tour in 2009, moved up in the general classification to 25 seconds behind Chaves.
His Movistar teammate and title rival Nairo Quintana remained 36 seconds off the leader’s pace, with Tour de France winner Chris Froome still 40 seconds back.