Colombia's Felix Cardenas produced a devastating ascent of the 40-km final climb to Sierra Nevada to win the 16th stage of Tour of Spain today.
The Labarca 2 rider caught lone breakaway Juan Miguel Mercado with 600 metres left of the 162-km stage which started in Jaen. Mercado held on to second place and fellow Spaniard Oscar Sevilla finished third.
Race leader Isidro Nozal of Spain retained his hold on the gold jersey despite a powerful attack by top rival Roberto Heras four km from the finish which caused him to lose nearly a minute in the overall standings.