The Movistar rider moved clear of a reduced group of riders at the close of the 182 kilometre mountain stage from Valls to Lo Port.

Due to steep nature of the final climb the overall contenders for victory came to the fore, including Spain’s Alberto Contador and Britain’s Chris Froome.

Valverde produced a typical burst of speed in the later stages of the climb, which saw him pull away to secure the victory.

The Spaniard finished in a time of 4 hours, 14min and 52sec to earn his second stage win of the race.

Team Sky’s Froome would cross the line at 13sec back, leading Contador over the finish line.

Marc Soler, Valverde’s Movistar team-mate, produced an impressive display on the stage as the Spanish rider ended 25sec off the pace in fourth.

The result propelled Valverde to the top of the general classification, with overnight leader Tejay van Garderen of the United States ending over one minute down.

Valverde leads the race by 21sec from Froome, despite being the whole Movistar team being docked one minute by commissaries for an illegal push in the team time trial on Tuesday (March 21).

Contador is the only other rider to be less than one minute from the lead, with the Trek-Segafredo team leader 47sec down.

The penultimate stage of the race from Tortosa to Reus will see the peloton tackle a 189.7km hilly route.

A 138.7km stage in Barcelona will bring the race to a close on Sunday (March 26).