CACERES, Spain (AFP) - Spanish rider Jose Cayetano Julia won the 16th stage of the Tour of Spain, a 190.1km ride from Olivenza to here.
His compatriot Roberto Heras retained the overall lead though the news that Olympic time-trail champion Tyler Hamilton, long since gone from the race, had tested positive for blood doping following his stage victory on September 11 overshadowed the events on the road.
Julia had been part of a group of 13 riders who broke away on the third kilometre of the stage but were subsequently reduced to six.
He then made his bid for glory two kilometres from the finish and breasted the line 12 seconds to the good of Slovenia's Tadej Valjavec while Danilo Di Luca was third around 30sec adrift.
The peloton were content to amble in some 12min behind the main protagonists, none of whom are in contention to win the race itself when it finishes in Madrid on Sunday.
Chief retirement of the day was former crack Spanish rider Joseba Beloki, whose miserable time since he crashed out of last year's Tour de France continued apace.