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Valdezcaray, Spain - Australia's Simon Clarke won the mountainous fourth stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Tuesday but Spain's Joaquin Rodriguez took the overall leader's red jersey.
Rodriguez took the lead from Spain's Alejandro Valverde, who was caught up in a crash involving several cyclists about two hours from the finish line that caused him to drop out of the top ten.
Clarke edged ahead of Germany's Tony Martin in a sprint finish at the end of the 160.6km course between Barakaldo and the Estacion de Valdezcaray ski resort, which ended in the second summit finish of the race.
Kazakhstan's Assan Bazayev finished in third place.
The 21-stage race finishes on September 9 in Madrid.
The Vuelta is one of cycling's three 'major tours' along with the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia.
1. Simone Clarke, Australia, Orica-GreenEdge, four hours, 30 minutes, 26 seconds.
2. Tony Martin, Germany, Omega Pharma-Quickstep, two seconds behind.
3. Assan Bazayev, Kazakhstan, Astana, :22.
4. Marcos Garcia, Spain, Caja Rural, :55.
5. Nicolas Roche, Ireland, Ag2r La Mondiale, same time.
6. Linus Gerdemann, Germany, Radioshack-Nissan, :57.
7. Laurens Ten Dam, Netherlands, Rabobank, same time.
8. Andrey Zeits, Kazakhstan, Astana, 1:01.
9. Bauke Mollema, Netherlands, Rabobank, 01:04.
10. Jan Bakelants, Belgium, Radioshack-Nissan, same time.
Overall Standings (After 4 of 21 stages):
1. Joaquim Rodriguez, Spain, Katusha, 13 hours, 18 minutes, 45 seconds.
2. Christopher Froome, Britain, Team Sky, one second behind.
3. Alberto Contador, Spain, SaxoBank, :05.
4. Bauke Mollema, Netherlands, Rabobank, :09.
5. Robert Gesink, Netherlands, Rabobank, same time.
6. Rigoberto Uran, Colombia, Team Sky, :11.
7. Daniel Moreno, Spain, Katusha, :14.
8. Nicolas Roche, Ireland, Ag2r La Mondiale, :24.
9. Alejandro Valverde, Spain, Movistar, :36.
10. Laurens Ten Dam, Netherlands, Rabobank, :46.
