Hola and welcome to live coverage of stage 18 of the Vuelta a Espana - a rolling 200.6km ride from Requena that features one categorised climb before a downhill run to what should be a sprint finish at Gandia on the Mediterranean coast.

Yesterday, Switzerland's Mathias Frank conquered the brutal Alto Mas de la Costa to win stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana from a break as Colombian Nairo Quintana held onto the leader's red jersey after a fierce battle of attrition between the GC favourites. Frank, the 29-year-old all-rounder from the soon-to-be-folding IAM Cycling team, attacked from a 28-man break alongside Dario Cataldo (Astana) before dropping the Italian on the savagely steep final climb at the conclusion of the hilly 177.5km stage from Castellon.