Plaza triumphs in Torrelavega

Rubén Plaza (Liberty Seguros) won the Spanish national championships in the Cantabria region of Spain Sunday.

"It was an important win for me because all the best Spaniards and teams are here – a unique opportunity," Plaza told Marca.

Plaza won ahead of Constantino Zaballa (Paredes Rota dos Móveis) and Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi).  Defending champion Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) finished fourth.

"The course contained nearly 3000 metres of climbing and it was a hard one," said Valverde.

Astarloza launched his bid for victory in the final two kilometres.  Plaza and Zaballa were able to catch him and launch their own counter-attack.

Plaza finished with three-second advantage over Zaballa.  Astarloza was another four seconds back.

It was Plaza's second national road title. The Alicante native won his first title in 2003.