Greg van Avermaet beat Davide Rebellin and Juan Antonio Flecha in a sprint finish to claim victory on stage nine of the 2008 La Vuelta cycling tour on Monday.

Stage nine covered a 200.8-kilometre course in the north-east corner of Spain. The peloton reeled in an early five-man breakaway that included Flecha and David Moncoutie. The two men were at it again 50 kilometres into the stage, sitting in the midst of an 11-strong group that attacked on the descent from the second of the day's four categorized climbs.

The 11 riders picked up their pace as the finish line loomed into view. Van Avermaet laid down the gauntlet, bursting through the middle of the group and passing Rebellin inside the final 100 metres. Van Avermaet won in four hours, 57 minutes and 22 seconds, taking the plaudits ahead of Italy's Rebellin in second place and Flecha of Spain in third.

Martinez finished down in tenth place, but clocked the same time as his fellow leaders. That was enough to lift him to the top of the standings, where he holds an 11-second lead over nearest rival Leipheimer.

(CCTV September 10, 2008)