Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) has won the first stage of the Tour of the Basque Country over 150 kilometers around Ordizia. On the last climb of the day, the Alto de Gaintza, he broke away from his flight companion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) with just under seven kilometers to go. On the final descent he was able to defend this lead. Behind Valverde, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) finished third.
With the day's win, Contador also took over the overall lead in the Basque Country. Here he is 14 seconds ahead of Valverde. Should Contador be able to underline his form on the following stages, this lead should not be taken away from him.
Result
1. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) 4:05:07
2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) 0:00:14
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:34
4. Yury Trofimov (Katusha) 0:00:36
5. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) 0:00:36
Total
1. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) 4:05:07
2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) 0:00:14
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:34
4. Yury Trofimov (Katusha) 0:00:36
5. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) 0:00:36