Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) stormed to victory on stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico atop the Selvarotonda ski resort with a virtuoso display of climbing. The Spaniard kicked with less than 200 meters to go on the final ascent of the day, beating Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Daniel Moreno (Katusha) into second and third.

Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma QuickStep) held onto his leader's jersey but lost valuable time to Contador, who now sits second overall at 16 seconds.

"It's a great win. It gives me confidence and confirms that all the work that I've been doing in the winter is paying off. I'm content to win but the GC is going to be hard to crack. I'll try though," Contador said.

The finishing slopes up to Selvarotonda saw number of teams target both the stage and Kwiatkowski's slender lead, but none more so than Movistar and Tinkoff who sensed that the young Pole would be vulnerable on the 10 per cent slopes to the finish.

It was Movistar who lit up the race first, probing at any QuickStep weaknesses with a brutal pace on the approach to the final climb. In the process they reeled in the main break of the day, and by the lower slopes of the final climb the peloton had shrunk to fewer than 50 riders.

It was there that Movistar played their second card, launching Benat Intxausti clear and in the pursuit of the ever-keen Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani-CSF). Roman Kreuziger launched a brutal attack soon after, and when the trio merged inside the final 8km it was the Czech rider who laid down his dominance, stamping on the pedals and churning up the climb on the big ring, as his companions struggled to stay in contact.

Both Kreuziger and Intxausti were genuine overall threats and after setting the pace earlier in the day, Omega Pharma QuickStep were forced into a defensive position. It was Wout Poels who was tasked with pace-setting duties as Kwiatkowski held firm. The team still had Rigoberto Uran waiting in the wings but with the steeper section still to come the Belgian team refused to panic.

Any unspoken collaboration between Movistar and Tinkoff was quickly shattered when Intxausti blew with 6 kilometres remaining, as Kreuziger bullishly sent his SRM into overdrive. Pirazzi yo-yoed off the Czech rider's wheel but even he had to recoil and sit up when Kreuziger rose from the saddle soon after.

With the race lead dangling enticingly close and a 26 second lead over a group that contained Contador, Uran, Porte, Horner and Quintana, the lone leader entered the final 3 kilometres with his advantage intact.

It was an attack from BMC that sparked the chase into action. The American team had already seen their leader Cadel Evans slip off the back twice but they were clearly intent on making an impression. Their gusto spurred Contador and Porte into trading parries but it was Michele Scarponi (Astana) who zipped clear.

Contador, Quintana and the briefly impressive Kiserlovski made contact with Scarponi soon after, and with less than 1800 metres to go, and in sight of the chase, Kreuziger waited for his team leader.

Within seconds the lead group had swelled even further, as Kwiatkowski and Uran were able to pace themselves into the frame. With the race leader nearly safe, and the line fast approaching, it was Porte who took the race by the scruff of the neck.

The Australian, having switched to Tirreno on the eve of the race, strung out his competitors. He was shadowed by Contador and Kreuziger but when Contador made his winning move only Quintana could rise from the saddle and give chase. It wasn't enough though as Contador picked up his second win of the season.

"I'm really happy that I'm still in the leader's jersey. We expected some big attacks from Contador and Quintana, and they did it. They really pushed me to the limit but I'm really thankful to Wouter Poels and Rigo Urán because they really did a good job for me. They set a good tempo on the last climb and i didn't lose so much time," Kwiatkowski said.

How it unfolded

Facing 240km of racing, half of it in the Apennines mountains, the riders had an early wake-up and a hearty breakfast to ensure they would have the energy in their legs for the seven hours of racing.

The riders rolled out together under the Tuscan sun but with little desire to race hard. As a result there was little resistance from the peloton when six riders attacked after six kilometres and the break of the day had been formed.

In the move were Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Matthias Brandle (IAM Cycling), Filippo Fortin (Bardiani-CSF), Alexandre Pichot (Europcar) and Maxim Belkov (Katusha).

Their lead quickly reached 4:10 after just 12km before a reaction from the peloton brought it down to 3:20. David Boucher (FDJ.fr) tried to get across the gap but the six pressed on and gained more of lead, extending their gap to 5:40 after 65km.

The gap grew to 7:20 after 115km of racing as the riders passed the feed zone in Bevagna, which marked the start of the climbs. The Omega Pharma-QuickStep team continued to lead the chase, accepting the burden that race leadership traditionally carries.

Robert Gesink (Belkin) was the first rider of the day to retire, climbing off apparently due to some kind of urinary problem.

Fortin was the first to the top of the Forca di Cerro climb, cleverly protecting the lead of teammate Marco Canola but the peloton refused to let the breakaway gain too much time. The gap slipped to 5:45 after 175km of racing, leaving 69km still to race, including the 14km climb to the finish.

Fortin, Pichon and Belkov were dropped on the 16km long Forca Capistrello climb, leaving Mondory, Lutsenko and Brandle up front. Lutsenko was the first to the top and took the points but the gap was melting under the warm sun as the Movistar team took over the chase.

On the road to the final climb Mondory crashed, leaving Lutsenko and Brandle ahead of the field. However with the final climb on the horizon and so much at stake the peloton were quickly upon the remnants of the break before the final fireworks were set off.

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