Movistar Team dedicate teams' win to Xavi Tondo in Sierra Nevada, with Lastras losing leadership while Pardilla and Bruseghin made the GC group The first mountain-top finish in the 2011 Vuelta a España was held atop the ski station of Sierra Nevada, with Dani Moreno (KAT) as victor while Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel (QST) took the red jersey not maintained by Pablo Lastras. The Spaniard and all Movistar Team members defended their privileged position until the final climb, but the first slopes of the Andalusian climb ruined Lastras's chances -the Madrilian still green jersey of La Vuelta-, who nevertheless shows optimist towards the rest of the race: “Yesterday I was thinking of not defending the leadership, because I had come to the Vuelta to win stages, but this morning we were focused on keeping it and that's how we raced all day. When I dropped, I saw that there were still 40 or 50 riders into the bunch and I was off to my limit. It was better to save energy for the opportunities that will surely come ahead. As well the team as myself are not getting enough after yesterday's victory."

The favourites’ group got selectioned through the 20-kilometer climb, which eventually left thirty riders on the front with Sergio Pardilla and Marzio Bruseghin always on top. The Spaniard and the Italian are now 8th and 9th respectively in the GC, only a minute off the leadership. Another complicated finish will come tomorrow on stage 5, 178 kilometers finishing in Valdepeñas de Jaén’s steep final slope up to 18%, after the Cat. 2 Alto de Valdepeñas just 8k from the finishing line. 

Rojas 10th at Poitou-Charentes’s opener
In turn, a second Movistar Team block have started today at the 25th Tour de Poitou-Charentes, a 5-stage, 2.1 tour in France whose first stage in Cognac came into a final sprint after 184 kilometers starting in Surgères. José Joaquín Rojas ended in 10th place behind Italian Appollonio (SKY), after a second part of the race where Movistar Team worked for the Spanish champion’s chances. Countryman Luis Pasamontes also gave protagonism to the telephone squad with an early, seven-rider move off the pack for the first half of the course.