Alejandro Valverde continued his trademark top-level performance at the Vuelta a España, despite nearing 40 years of age, with an aggressive performance at the Alto de Habalambre to move into fourth place overall.

Shortly after Astana and Team EF's Hugh Carthy tore through the field that day, Valverde jumped out of the shrinking pack of leading riders on the upper slopes of Wednesday's summit finish at Habalambre.

Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) attacked and took the lead, and Valverde held steady behind him.

Valverde's teammate Nairo Quintana (who Valverde insists is "still the leader") is in third place, five seconds behind the veteran.

"'Superman' [Lopez] was very fast, but I was able to keep my pace. 'Roglic was a good ally for me today. I wanted to limit my losses with 'Superman'. It is clear that he has been an important competitor since the beginning of the race."

After the second stage, it was clear that Nairo (Quintana) was the main option for the Spanish team in the Vuelta a España, and Valverde was He was enthusiastic. In fact, Valverde said he would aim for a stage win. At the same time, however, he was adamant that he still had a chance to defend.

"There is no doubt that Nairo is the leader. In a race like this, when you lose five minutes, you lose."

"I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to defend my lead," he said.

But Valverde also added that he thought Nairo was on his wheel.

Quintana did not seem overly bothered by Valverde's move, telling a Colombian reporter at the finish, "Today was not a good day. My only option was to keep the gap down."

But with Valverde back in the top four on GC, the Spanish media will no doubt again question whether Valverde can win it all.

"I doubt it," Valverde said after the race. Nairo is also very strong and today was a climb that suited both of them."

In the end, however, it was clear that Habalambre suited Valverde, and Movistar once again had two overall classification options at the Vuelta a España.