Alejandro Valverde of Movistar took the mountain top finish of the second stage in Andalucia to mark his return to racing. After a two-year ban, the Spaniard is showing top form against some very strong competition. Denis Menchov was second on the stage ten seconds back, the same time as third and fourth place finishers Rein Taaramae and Frank Schleck, pictured above.

The win puts Valverde into the race lead ahead of Javier Ramirez, who won yesterday’s first road stage. Tomorrow’s Stage 3 features three categorized climbs, the last coming roughly six kilometers from the finish.