COL DE VELEFIQUE, Spain, Sept 11, 2009 (AFP) – Canadian Ryder Hesjedal held off his rivals to claim the 12th stage of the Tour of Spain after a climb to the Col de Velefique on Friday as Spaniard Alejandro Valverde held the overall race lead.

The Garmin rider won a sprint finish ahead of Spaniard David Garcia, one of a group of breakaway riders he joined in the final kilometres after the 179.3km run from Almeria.

Valverde of Caisse d’Epargne holds the overall race leader’s golden jersey ahead of Australian Cadel Evans, but Dutch rider Robert Gesink, sitting third, proved he is still very much in the running.

Rabobank’s Gesink, 23, gained precious bonus points after attacking at the end of the stage and moved to 18 seconds behind Valverde, who holds his seven-second advantage on Silence rider Evans.

“Circumstances were favourable for a long breakaway,” said 29-year-old Hesjedal.

“The team works well. David Garcia impressed me and I had problems catching him.”

A group including Valverde and Evans finished 16 seconds behind Hesjedal and 10 seconds ahead of Gesink.

The stage, the first of a series of three in the Sierra Nevada mountains, has already blown the peloton apart with several riders opting to pull out, preferring to rest before the world championships in Switzerland later this month.

Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov of Astana, back in competition after a two-year doping ban, faded in the mountains of southern Spain.

But the worst is yet to come in Saturday’s stage which finishes at 2520m altitude. That will be followed on Sunday with a 1840m finish at Col de la Sierra de La Pandera.

“The stage at La Pandera could decide the race,” said Valverde.