Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) claimed stage 4 of the Vuelta a España and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) moved into the overall lead at the summit finish at Valdezcaray on day that saw Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) lose his red jersey in rather contentious circumstances.

Valverde was one of a number of fallers in a crash inside the final 30 kilometres, just as Chris Froome’s Sky team was looking to split the peloton in the stiff crosswinds that buffeted the race on the run-in to the day’s final climb.

While Valverde was picking through the debris at the rear of the field, Simon Clarke was riding to the first win of his career up ahead. The Australian had been part of the day’s early break and he was the only one of their number who could match Tony Martin’s (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) pressing at the foot of the final climb.

Martin and Clarke had a lead of 4 minutes at that juncture, the steepest section of the Valdezcaray, and they measured their effort perfectly on the shallower slopes that followed in the final 9 kilometres to hold off their erstwhile companion Assan Bazayev (Astana). Even when an Alberto Contador acceleration behind dramatically cut away a large swathe of their lead in the finale, the pair refused to panic and emerged to fight out a tense sprint at the summit.

Clarke showed considerable sangfroid in the closing metres, marshalling Martin to the front and then refusing to accept his invitation to lead out from distance, before dispatching the German with room to spare in the sprint.

"Tony is a really good time triallist, but I thought I could have him in a sprint. I made sure to have him in front in the wind,” Clarke said. “This is my first win as pro, I've been a pro for four years and I've tried so many times, I've had so many seconds and third places, I'm just so happy.

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