Urko Berrade’s late attack proved decisive as the Spaniard powered to his maiden professional victory on the 18th stage of the Vuelta a Espana.

Britain’s 21-year-old Max Poole, riding for Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, claimed a fourth podium of the race after finishing third.

Berrade, riding for Equipo Kern Pharma, launched his attack with six kilometres remaining to move clear of the leading group.

The 26-year-old built a healthy lead on the final hill before cruising to victory on the 179km stage through his native Basque region.

Switzerland’s Mauro Schmid, riding for Jayco-AlUla, claimed second after edging past Equipo Kern Pharma’s Spaniard Pau Miquel, who was later relegated by race marshals from third to ninth for deviating from his line.

Australian Ben O’Connor retained the overall leader’s red jersey as the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider finished safely in the group of title contenders to maintain his five-second advantage over Slovenia’s three-time Vuelta champion Primoz Roglic.

Veteran Basque rider Mikel Landa, riding for Soudal Quick-Step, dropped from fifth to 10th in the standings after losing over three minutes, while Britain’s Adam Yates finished on the same time to drop away from the top 10 on time, although he remains in 11th place overall.

Friday’s stage 19 finishes on the summit of the Alto de Moncalvillo in the Rioja region in central northern Spain.