Chris Froome moved into second place in the overall standings of the Volta a Catalunya on Friday after a strong performance in stage five.
The Team Sky star followed Movistar's Alejandro Valverde home over a tough mountain stage which saw the Spaniard establish an overall lead in the race of 21 seconds.
Froome had initially intended to boost team-mate Geraint Thomas's push to move up the general classification but struck out alone when Thomas faded towards the end of the 8km climb.
Froome was part of a breakaway quartet also including Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) and Valverde's team-mate Marc Soler before Valverde finished strongly.
It was Valverde's second stage win of this year's Volta, having also taken stage three on a controversial day which had also seen his Movistar team penalised during the earlier time-trial.
