Movistar rider Valverde timed his finish in the 258-kilometre race to perfection, overtaking eventual runner-up Dan Martin of Ireland on the final bend to add to his wins from 2006, 2008 and 2015 with a time of 6 hours 24min 27sec.

The 36-year-old is now the joint second-most successful rider in the event's history, level with Italian Moreno Argentin, and one behind Belgium's Eddy Merckx.

He dedicated his victory to Scarponi, who was killed yesterday after being involved in a crash during training.

The 2011 Giro d’Italia winner was riding near his home in Filottrano in central Italy when a van collided with him.

It came a day after Scarponi, who was married and had two children, had finished fourth in the Tour of the Alps, of which he won the opening stage on Monday (April 17).

"That was for you Scarponi," Valverde said after the race, which was preceded by a minute’s silence.

"He was a very good friend of mine and when I heard the news, it was terrible.

"All of the prize money is going to his family.

"The race was unbelievable today.

"The team did a fantastic job."

Race director Christian Prudhomme described Scarponi as "a rider who was loved and respected" and "a ray of sunshine in the peloton". 

Today's win continues the superb form of Valverde, who captured a fourth-straight victory and fifth overall triumph at the La Flèche Wallonne classic in Belgium's Ardennes region on Wednesday (April 19).

That added to his International Cycling Union (UCI) World Tour victories at the Volta a Catalunya and Tour of the Basque Country earlier this season.

Quick-Step Floors rider Martin, the Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner in 2013, raced into the lead today with 500 metres remaining but ultimately finished second to Valverde as he did at the La Flèche Wallonne. 

Team Sky's Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland followed up his second-place finish at the recent Amstel Gold Race in The Netherlands by coming home in third. 

Earlier in the day, The Netherlands’ Anna van der Breggen made it three successive wins on the UCI Women’s World Tour with victory.

The 27-year-old rider clocked a time of 3:42:17 for the 135.5km race, beating Boels-Dolmans team-mate Lizzie Deignan of Great Britain by a margin of 17 seconds.

It follows the Olympic road race champion's wins at the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, two other races at which Deignan finished runner-up.

Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma of WM3 Energie came third today.