Once again among the best

After the second week of the Tour de France, Alejandro Valverde hasta the eighth position in the general classification, despite the world champion has not hidden since the beginning in Brussels his intention to work for his teammates Mikel Landa and Nairo Quintana. So it was in the climb to La Planche des Belles Filles, where Valverde set the pace in the rise to this climb, and so it has been in the three days of Pyrenees, with Movistar Team taking a leading role.

Alejandro has been reliable and regular since the beginning of the Tour de France, demonstrating once again his ability to stay among the best, whatever the objective and the race. With six stages ahead, including the stages of the Alps, he will try to collaborate in the plans of his team, which also retains Mikel Landa in seventh place despite losing more than 2 minutes due to the crosswinds.

Alejandro Valverde: “You can’t say we didn’t try. We got three into the breakaway, Nairo also got really close to having a shot at the provisional GC podium, and then Mikel attacked in the penultimate climb and we could have him gaining some advantage and taking 3rd with that big help from our team-mates. I could also do well, finishing with Thomas. It was nearly a perfect day for us when it comes to attitude. We’re a group of fighters, and we won’t settle with what we’ve got right now. Nairo didn’t have his best legs yesterday -the crash affected him-, but he felt quite better today. We can now enjoy the rest day and, look out for the next week – those three Alps stages will be really, really tough. It’s a very different block of mountains, with high altitude, 2,500-2,600 meters. It will be tough for Alaphilippe, but you can only applaud him for what he’s done so far. It’s still a long way to the end.”

Photo: BettiniPhoto
Quotes: Movistar Team