The 175 kilometre route took the peloton from Mataró to Valls, with an early break being led by Spanish riders Igor Merino, Antonio Molina and Mikel Bizkarra.

They would remain out in front for a large part of the day, with the home trio ultimately brought back inside the final 50km.

A lone attack from France's Cyril Barthe was ultimately thwarted, as the peloton picked up the pace on the final climb of the day at 12km to go.

The ascent removed several sprinters from contention, leaving a mix of climbers and fast paced finishers contesting a sprint.

Valverde would ultimately come through to claim the stage win in a time of 4 hours, 41min and 50sec.

The Movistar rider was followed across the line by South Africa's Daryl Impey and Jay McCarthy of Australia.

With gaps in the peloton occurring, the general classification changed considerably from yesterday.

Valverde moved into the overall race lead, with McCarthy closest at four seconds adrift.

Impey completes the top three at six seconds down, while Valverde's Colombian team-mate Nairo Quintana is fourth a further five seconds behind.

The International Cycling Union WorldTour race will continue tomorrow with a 199km stage from Saint Cugat to Vallter.