Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen sprinted past High Road team mate Morris Possoni to win the fourth stage of the Tour of the Basque Country.

Kirchen then said he had mixed feelings about stealing victory from the Italian for his second stage victory in three days on the tour following his win on Tuesday.

Part of a three-man breakaway, Possoni was poised for the win but Kirchen, at the front of the bunch of chasing riders, overtook the Italian close to the line.

"I was sprinting for the line on one side of the road and did not see Morris was so close to finishing on the other," Kirchen told reporters.

"If I'd braked, I'd have been beaten.

"He'll be angry with me for sure. I want to dedicate this win to him and the team. It's their victory, not mine.

"Morris is young and deserved to win today, not me."

Spaniard David Herrero of the Karpin team was a close third in the sprint finish to the 171km stage from Viana to Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Overall, Spain's Alberto Contador kept his lead after his Astana squad retained strong control on the main bunch throughout the day.

Only Possoni's breakaway move, containing no threats to Contador's lead, was given a chance to go clear.

Galician Ezequiel Mosquera remains in second place overall, three seconds behind Contador, with Herrero third, eight second behind.

World champion Paolo Bettini of Italy pulled out of the race after crashing on a descent.

Team sources said that Bettini, of the Quick Step squad, has suffered serious bruising to his legs and a possible fracture of his left hip had yet to be ruled out.

Friday's 162km fifth stage is from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Orio where the race ends on Saturday with a 20km time trial.

STAGE THREE

Spaniard David Herrero won the third stage of the Tour of Basque Country in a bunched sprint finish.

The Karpin-Galicia rider crossed the line less than a wheel length ahead of Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez. Italian Paolo Bettini came third in the 195km stage.

Spain's Alberto Contador of the Astana team finished in the same time as Herrero and so retained the overall lead.

"This victory is a real relief." said Herrero, who came third in the first and second stages.

"I'd got two podium places, but didn't seem able to turn it into a win. Today was a complicated descent before the finish, but I kept on accelerating regardless."

Born in the Basque Country, the 28-year-old said the win was "the most important of my career so far by a long way.

"I didn't reckon that I had won it until I crossed the line. It was close."

Contador leads the race by three seconds over Ezequiel Mosquera. Herrero is third, eight seconds behind.

STAGE TWO

Contador retained the overall lead of the Tour of the Basque Country after Luxemburger Kim Kirchen led the peloton home in the second stage.

High Road rider Kirchen completed the 153-km run from Legazpia to Erandio in three hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds, finishing ahead of Italy's world champion Bettini and Spaniard Herrero.

Contador finished the stage in the main peloton and remains three seconds up on compatriot Ezequiel Mosquera of the Karpin-Galicia team in the overall standings, with Mosquera's team-mate Herrero a further five seconds adrift.

Four riders - Jose Luis Arrieta, Joan Horrach, Michael Albasini and Inigo Landaluze - led an early breakaway but the foursome were reeled in by the chasing group in the final kilometres.

Contador said he was very pleased with his day's racing.

"It might have come across as boring on the television but the rain showers that fell during the final kilometres made the stage dangerous," said the reigning Tour de France champion.

"Everyone was going very fast to earn precious seconds and luckily I did not fall," added Contador, whose team have been barred from this year's Grande Boucle as a result of doping scandals over the past two years.

Wednesday's third stage see the riders tackle a 195-km run from Erandio to Viana.

STAGE ONE

Tour de France champion Contador made a lone break to victory in the first stage of the Tour of the Basque Country.

The Astana team leader finished around three seconds ahead of fellow Spaniard Ezequiel Mosquera. Herrero led in the bunch of chasers for third.

"I took some risks on the descent leading to the finish but it was worth taking a chance," Contador said, referring to the dangerous, rain-soaked terrain.

"I've come here to win overall and this is just the start I needed."

Contador and Mosquera took off on the final climb of the stage, the Alto de Descarga. Contador then attacked two kilometres from the line for a lone win.

"It wasn't just me who put on a real show in this stage, it was my whole team," he said.

"They toughened up the race throughout and gave me the chance to attack."

Astana have been barred from the Tour de France because of their implications in doping scandals meaning Contador, who joined the team this season, will not be able to defend his title.

The Tour of the Basque Country finishes on April 12.

AFP / Reuters