Valverde eyes Vino

Speaking at a Vuelta rest day press conference in the coastal city of Almeria on Monday, Valverde said that Vinokourov was "capable of attacking anywhere and everywhere".

"He's one of the most aggressive riders out there, and a superb mountain climber," he said.

"Tomorrow [Tuesday] we got into the sierras of Andalusia, and we can expect him to be on the hunt for a stage win and the overall."

Overall, Valverde has an advantage of 48 seconds on Kazakh Andrei Kashechkin, one minute 25 on Carlos Sastre of Spain and 1:38 on Vinokourov.

The Kazakh, winner of stage nine to La Cobertoria's summit finish, is the only top-five favourite to have beaten Valverde on the climbs.

"He'll attack on Tuesday because he knows he can't afford to wait any longer."

Valverde added: "Time is running out if people want to beat me."

Asked about his closest Spanish rival, Sastre, Valverde argued that "after doing the Tour (de France) and the Giro D'Italia this summer, logically he should suffer the worst of us in the final week of racing."

Vinokourov argued that "the important thing is that either I or (team-mate) Andrey Kashechkin win.

"The World Championships (in Austria on September 24th) continues to be my big objective for the season.

"However, I'm in the Tour of Spain right now, and all I'm thinking about at the moment is winning it."

The Tour of Spain ends on Sept. 17 in Madrid. Tuesday's stage is 145 km long, starting in Almeria and ending on the summit finish of Calar Alto.