Dani Navarro (Cofidis) out powered Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Bauke Mollema (Blanco) on a taxing ascending finish to take the Vuelta a Murcia.

The Spanish race has been trimmed down from a stage race to a one-day event, but it still drew a peloton of quality riders keen to race in the warmer conditions of Southern Europe rather than take part in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in much more severe weather conditions.

The Movistar and Blanco teams worked to set the stage for their leaders in the final km, but Navarro proved too powerful in his final surge to the line and he possessed the might to defeat Mollema and Valverde. Robert Gesink (Blanco) finished fourth after working for Mollema towards the end. Luis Ángel Maté (Cofidis) completed the top five.

Final results:
1 Daniel Navarro Garcia - Cofidis, Solutions Credits 04.40.32
2 Bauke Mollema - Blanco Pro Cycling Team
3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte - Movistar Team
4 Robert Gesink - Blanco Pro Cycling Team
5 Luis Angel Mate Mardones - Cofidis, Solutions Credits
6 Igor Anton Hernandez - Euskaltel-Euskadi
7 Davide Rebellin - CCC Polsat Polkowice
8 Jakob Fuglsang - Astana Pro Team
9 Jonathan Hivert - Sojasun
10 Enzo Moyano - Caja Rural
11 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas - Movistar Team 03”
12 Egor Silin - Astana Pro Team 06”
13 Jerome Coppel - Cofidis, Solutions Credits 07”
14 José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes - Team NetApp-Endura 08”
15 Wouter Poels - Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 26”
16 Nicolas Edet - Cofidis, Solutions Credits 28”
17 Martijn Keizer - Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 44”
18 Wilco Kelderman - Blanco Pro Cycling Team 46”
19 Janez Brajkovic - Astana Pro Team 46”
20 Laurens Ten Dam - Blanco Pro Cycling Team 49”