Joaquin Rodriguez claimed victory in the second stage of the Vuelta a Burgos and with it the overall lead.

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The Caisse d'Epargne rider responded to a move from Francesco Masciarelli (Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo) in the final 400 metres of the category three San Juan del Monte mountaintop finish to pass the Italian and cross the line first ahead of Belgium's Ben Hermans (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) and team-mate Alejandro Valverde.

The podium for the 153km stage is mirrored in the general classification, with Spain's Koldo Fernández (Euskaltel-Euskadi) - who began the day as overall leader - bumped out of the top three.

"This stage was characterised by many attacks, but the team did a fantastic job to control the situation," said Rodriguez. "At the end things went exactly the way we decided beforehand. I felt very good, with excellent legs, and on such a finish, which is the ideal one for my abilities, I attacked at the right moment so that I could arrive with a short but sufficient gap."

Friday's stage - the third of five - is the longest of the race, but the 175km route which begins and ends in Burgos three intermediate sprints and no classified climbs.