Spain's Benat Intxausti launched a dominant attack on the long final climb of the day to win the fourth stage of the Tour of Beijing on Monday and seize the leader's red jersey.

The Movistar rider made his move just over two kilometers from the finish in Mentougou, in the hills northwest of the Chinese capital.

With some of the competition's top contenders, including world champion Rui Costa of Portugal and Germany's defending titleholder Tony Martin in the chasing group, Intxausti had to put in everything, grimacing with effort and regularly glancing behind.

With a 10-second time bonus for winning the 150.5-kilometer stage, the win sent Intxausti straight to the top of the overall classification, holding a virtually unassailable 10-second lead on Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) with only the flat final stage in Beijing to go.

AFP - Global Times