CALAR ALTO, Spain (Reuters) - Igor Anton took victory on the summit finish of Calar Alto in the 16th stage of the Tour of Spain on Tuesday.

Fellow Spaniard Alejandro Valverde retained the overall lead with second place, 23 seconds behind the Euskaltel-Euskadi rider. Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov finished third.

Anton broke away from a group of favourites three km from the finish for the first professional victory of his career.

"It was an incredible win, something I never expected to achieve. But with some great team work it all worked out fine." Anton told reporters.

Vinokourov moved into second place overall with Carlos Sastre of Spain in third.

The Tour of Spain ends on September 17 in Madrid.