The GC battle has been put on hold for a couple of days but will be resumed tomorrow when the riders are set to tackle the first of three difficult uphill finishes. The final climb up Alto de Peñas Blancas is not overly difficult and some of the main riders may prefer to save energy for the harder stages. Nonetheless, a fierce battle is expected and we should at least get another clear indication of who won't win this year's Vuelta a Espana. Starting at 15.30 CEST (or immediately after the finish of the 2nd stage of the World Ports Classic) you can follow the stage on CyclingQuotes.com/live.

The course

After a couple of quieter days, the GC riders get back into action during the weekend which offers two stages that can produce time differences between the overall contenders. The first of those is the race's second major summit finish, albeit still not one in the high mountains. From the start in Jerez de la Frontera near the southwestern coast, the riders head in an eastern direction before turning towards the southeast. Initially, the roads will be dead-flat but as the riders get a little further into the mainland, a few smaller climbs - none of them categorized - will make their presence felt.

Shortly after the first intermediate sprint at the 124km mark, the peloton will reach the southern coast of Spain which it will follow all the way to the city of Estepona. Here they will make a left-hand turn to head back into the Spanish mainland and up the category 1 Alto de Peñas Blancas (14,5km, 6,6%, max. 12,5%). This is the toughest climb in the race so far and has a really difficult first 3km with a 12,5% section at the 2km mark. From there, the riders will get a chance to recover during 2 almost flat kilometres until the going once again gets tougher.

The final 9,5km have a rather constant gradient between 6% and 8% with the finish being slightly easier at 5,7%. The final hairpin bend is located 1km from the finish and from there it's almost straight all the way to the line, setting the scene for a final power sprint up the slopes.

The weather

The riders have reached Andalucia which is known as the hottest part of Spain and the high temperatures were felt during today's stage. It should be another warm day tomorrow but when the riders get closer to the coast they can expect the temperatures to drop.

Once again it will be a sunny day with very few clouds on the sky. At the start, the temperatures are expected to be close to the 30-degree mark but they will have dropped to 24 degrees when they reach the coast.

There will only be a light wind from an eastern direction which means that the riders will mostly have a headwind on their journey towards the coast. It will pick up when they reach the seafront and there will be a cross-headwind on the coastal section which will surely create some tension in the peloton. The wind is, however, unlikely to be strong enough to split things up. The peloton will mostly have a crosswind on the final climb. At the 2km mark, the riders will turn into a headwind but when they take the final hairpin bend at the flamme rouge, they will enjoy a tailwind that will assist them all the way to the finish line.

The favourites

Tomorrow's stage is the first in a series of three hard days in the Andalusian mountains and that may have an impact on the kind of racing we are going to see. The final climb is not overly difficult and so is unlikely to produce big time gaps among the race favourites. That may prompt a number of riders to take a more defensive approach to the stage, knowing that they may have more to lose in the coming days - especially on Monday's stage - than they can gain today.

Actually, a breakaway has a very good chance of making it all the way to the finish. The final climb doesn't suit Vincenzo Nibali well and the Italian will be happy to see escapees swallow up the bonus seconds. At the same time, he will not be too unhappy to get rid of the leader's jersey at this early time and so Astana is unlikely to do an awful lot of chase work.

Joaquim Rodriguez has hit sights sets on Sunday's stage to Valdepenas de Jaen where his Katusha team can expect to bear the major part of the chasing burden. Knowing that the final climb is not really steep enough to suit him well, he will probably save his team for Sunday's and Monday's stages.

Alejandro Valverde may have the biggest chance of winning this stage but until now, his Movistar team hasn't done an awful lot of chase work. Stage 2 was tailor-made to his characteristics but on that occasion, he appeared to be content with the breakaway running away with the spoils. When he didn't use his team last Sunday, it's hard to see why he should do so tomorrow - especially with some tough stages coming up.

That could play the stage into the hands of the escapees and it is likely to be up to Movistar to prevent a breakaway win. Radioshack still hasn't given up the hope of putting Chris Horner back into the red jersey, and the Luxembourgish team could kick into action, especially if the breakaway contains a dangerous rider. Lampre-Merida did a lot of work on stage 2 but it is hard to see the team having a genuine interest in chasing again tomorrow.

Due to the easy start, it is almost impossible to pick the right escapees as luck plays a crucial role in determining who will get into the right move. We believe a breakaway will make it to the finish and so our stage winner pick will be an escapee who has the climbing legs to finish it off but as said: due to the nature of the early part of the stage, it is almost a lottery to pick the right one.

Alexandre Geniez is a strong climber who was part of a three-pronged FDJ GC attack that also involved Thibaut Pinot and Kenny Elissonde. Geniez lost all GC hopes on stage 4 when Pinot had a mechanical that forced him to do a bike change. Geniez was the perfect teammate and gave his captain his own bike. He lost 14 minutes and fell out of GC contention.

That now gives him freedom to chase his own success from breakaways and he may grab that chance tomorrow. He climbed well in the first mountain stages when he was still part of the GC battle and won't have lost his good condition. The flat opening part doesn't suit him well and it will be difficult for him to get into the right move but if he succeeds, he will be very hard to beat on the final climb. He finished 4th when he made it into the breakaway on the big Alpine stage to Le-Grand-Bornand in the Tour de France and knows how to keep calm in a hectic finale.

Amets Txurruka is a perennial attacker who excels in the mountains. He has set his sights on the mountains jersey in this race and a good way to open his account would be by winning tomorrow's stage. Until now, he has made numerous unsuccessful attacks in the race finales but tomorrow could be the day for him to try from afar. He is far down on GC and should be allowed plenty of freedom. Earlier in his career, he was a splendid climber but a number of crashes saw him go through a number of difficult seasons. Having been left off the Euskaltel roster prior to the season, he joined Caja Rural and that appears to have put him back on track. Look out for Txurruka to light up the mountain stages in this race and he may as well start tomorrow.

Our final escape pick for tomorrow's stage is Jelle Vanendert. The Belgian has had a horrible season so far when stomach problems made him unable to reach his best form for the Ardennes classics. Those problems continued and forced him to miss the Tour de France but now he has ridden himself back into form. He has no GC ambitions in this race but hopes to win a stage in the mountains. He knows how to do so as he won the big stage to Plateau-de-Beille in the 2011 Tour de France. He has been riding well in the first part of the race and as he is more than 9 minutes down on GC, nobody will be too concerned, should he get up the road.

If it comes back together for the final climb, the cards play into the hands of Alejandro Valverde. The steep sections of the climb are located too far from the finish to make a difference and so his main rivals are likely to save their attacks. Valverde has been riding splendidly in the first part of the race and will be very difficult to beat on the more gentle slopes at the top. None of the GC riders can beat the Spaniard in a sprint up a 5% climb and it is no coincidence that Valverde won the sprint from the peloton on stages 2 and 3.

Valverde's main problem will be to keep it together for a sprint. As said, we don't expect his team to do too much work to reel in the break but if it is back together at the bottom of the final climb, we could very well see Movistar hit the front as they did on the final climb of stage 2. Stages 2 and 3 did, however, reveal that his domestiques may not be strong enough to reel in the numerous attacks that are likely to be launched in the finale. Jose Herrada and Sylwester Szmyd have both done an outstanding chase work but Eros Capecchi and Javier Moreno have been unable to step in when it comes to the crucial phase and Benat Intxausti is a mere shadow of his former self. As Movistar is unlikely to get too much assistance, Valverde may once again miss out on the win due to a late attack.

Such an attack could be launched by Sergio Henao. On paper, the Colombian should be one of the very best climbers in the race and he is rumoured to be in the form of his life. He lost more than two minutes due to a hunger knock on stage 2 but is unlikely to repeat that mistake. As he is now a little down on GC, the main favourites may not react if he goes on the attack in the race finale and if he gets up the road, he will be very difficult to reel in or beat in a sprint for any escape companions.

If Chris Horner has anything in his legs, an attack from the veteran American is almost guaranteed. Tomorrow's stage may be his final opportunity to take back the leader's jersey and he can't let it slip away. His attack on stage 3 was simply impressive and is just another testament to his current level. His strength should not come as a big surprise as he climbed alongside the likes of Chris Froome, Alberto Contador and Nibali in the Tirreno-Adriatico when he last finished a race on European soil. Injuries have prevented him from expressing his full potential but as things stand right now, he is going to have a fantastic Vuelta. Nibali may, however, not regard him as a big rival in the long run and so is unlikely to react, should Horner make a late attack. If Movistar is on their knees at that point, it's hard to see anyone reeling him in.

We will also point to Daniel Moreno. Joaquim Rodriguez is unlikely to be allowed any leeway from the race favourites and he will probably ride a rather conservative race, saving his energy for Sunday's stage. Instead, his trusted lieutenant Moreno will get carte blanche to join the late attacks that have a solid chance of making it to the finish. That was what he did on stage 2 and he was the rider who initiated the moves on stage 4. He had a disappointing Tour de France but appears to have timed his condition for this race perfectly. As he is also very fast on the line, he will be very difficult to beat should he get to the finish line as part of a late breakaway.

Finally, we will pick a joker. Yannick Eijssen hasn't done much to make people aware of his participation but that may change tomorrow. The talented youngster had a difficult first time as a professional and it was hard to see why he was picked as the next Belgian climber. However, his legs have started to come around this month and he did a gutsy ride on the queen stage of the Tour of Utah when he almost took the win from a long-distance breakaway. Until now, he has stayed with the main favourites and sits neatly inside the top 20 on GC. He is probably not allowed to get into the early breakaway but look out for the young Belgian to make a surprise move in the finale.

CyclingQuotes' stage winner pick: Alexandre Geniez

Other winner candidates: Alejandro Valverde, Sergio Henao

Outsiders: Daniel Moreno, Jelle Vanendert, Amets Txurruka

Joker: Yannick Eijssen