After 144.7 kilometers Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) claimed the summit finish of the second stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia for himself, pushing Denis Menchov (Katusha) and Rein Taaramäe (Cofidis) into second and third place. Matthias Brändle put in a solid performance on the mountain, ending the race in 22th place.

Valverde is thus the new leader in the general classification, ahead of Taaramäe and Jerome Coppel (Saur Sojasun). As Team NetApp's best rider, Matthias Brändle is currently in ninth place overall.

“The stage went as expected. All of the breakaway riders were caught up with in the final climb,” Sport Director Enrico Poitschke reported. The ride got really steep during the last kilometer with an incline of up to 18%. “The team got our climbers Leo König, Reto Hollenstein, Andreas Dietziker and Matthias Brändle into a good position. Given the competition we weren't able to do better than 22th place from Matthias Brändle.”

Brändle has fallen three positions in the general classification. In ninth place overall, he is now 23 seconds behind the leader Valverde. “We will do everything we can to maintain this position or even improve it,” Enrico Poitschke announced. 

Tomorrow's 160-kilometer stage from Montemayor to Las Gabias will prove to have a much easier profile with three category 3 climbs. "Some of the riders will try to ride in groups, while others should concentrate on the finish. We are expecting a bunch sprint," the Sport Director said, explaining the racing tactics.
 

prologue, 19 February: San Fernando, 6 km
stage 1, 20 February: Zahara de los Atunes – Benalmádena, 197.9 km
stage 2, 21 February: Málaga – Alto Santuario Virgen de Aracelli (Lucena), 144.7 km
stage 3, 22 February: Montemayor – Las Gabias, 157.1 km
stage 4, 23 February: Cruzcampo Jaén – La Guardia de Jaén, 135.7 km

Website of the race