Tour de France begins!

The most important race of the calendar starts this season from Dusseldorf (Germany). This is the 22nd occasion that the Tour de France departs from a foreign city and the fourth it does from this country, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the great departure of Berlin in 1987. A new and exciting challenge for Alejandro Valverde, who starts its tenth participation in the French round, where he has managed to finish six times in the top ten of the general, highlighting the podium of the 2015 edition.

The rider from Murcia has won four stages in the Tour: Courchevel (2005), Plumelec and Super Besse (2008) – wearing for two days the yellow jersey – and Peyragudes (2008). Valverde had a brilliant competition in the last two Tour de France, -3rd and 6th- despite working in favor of the options of his teammate Nairo Quintana.

Valverde and his team repeat this goal in 2017, as it is confirmed by himself before traveling to Germany: “My goal is clear and I have always said: it is to help Nairo and nothing else. We will be 100% overturned with Nairo”. However, the cyclist of Movistar Team does not give up completing a good race in the individual: “It is clear that I can not waste much time regarding the strategy for the team. We believe that my options can be tactically important. If nothing happens and we are close in the general, that will make the rivals have to watch two instead of one and that can be very good for us”.

Together with Valverde and Quintana, Movistar Team has confirmed a powerful squad with the recent champion of Spain, Jesus Herrada, the Italian Daniele Bennati, the German Jasha Sütterlin, the Colombian Carlos Betancur, the Costa Rican Andrei Amador and the Spaniards Imanol Erviti and Jonathan Castroviejo.