Alejandro Valverde who took place sixteen in the third stage of Paris-Nice which finished today in Aurillac six seconds behind winner Peter Sagan, explained that “it was snowing at the start this morning so that the organizers decided to shorten the stage. We rode 53 kilometers in the team bus so that there were only 155 kilometers left”.

The rider from Murcia also told that “a three-man breakaway made a gap of seven minutes with the pack and at that moment we decided our team had to take the responsibility of the race. We started chasing to bridge the gap. All the team worked hard not only to control the race but also because we knew that we had a good opportunity to win the stage”.

“The idea was to attack in the hill situated at three kilometers from the finishing line but it was not possible to achieve what we planned. Besides the fact that I was not good placed when we started climbing the hill –we came from a very broad downhill-my sensations were not good enough to be able to come back in front of the race".

“I feel really sorry for not having been able to take advantage of the great job my team-mates did and I hope to feel better tomorrow in a stage which could be decisive”, concluded Alejandro.
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Alejandro Valverde finished the second stage of Paris-Nice which started this morning from Contres and arrived this afternoon in the city of Limoges earlier than foreseen in the first part of the bunch earlier than foreseen.

“This second stage was quieter than the previous one”, commented Alejandro Valverde in Limoges. “Four riders attacked almost as soon as the race started and they remained in the lead for a long time as we caught them at only 18 kilometers from the finish”.

Speaking about the weather, the rider from Murcia explained that “It is still very cold and every day colder but we are almost used to that now and as for me I am no longer afraid of racing when it is so cold as it was the case in the past. I believe that my victory in the Mediterranean Tour helped me a lot because I understood there than when you are in good condition the weather doesn’t matter a lot”.

“Tomorrow the stage will be a more difficult one and team-mate Luis León Sánchez who won that same stage in Aurillac in the Tour de France 2008 will certainly be in front again”.

Speaking about the fact he is sharing the leadership with Luis León, Alejandro underlined the fact that “We are not only team-mates but also friends and we know each other very well. That’s a great advantage we have compared to other teams. When harmony is so good, to have two leaders in the same team is an advantage and we hope to go as far as possible in the race in the same conditions. Later the race conditions will decide the winner. Without forgetting of course that we are not the only riders able to win and that many other riders are able to receive the yellow jersey next Sunday in Nice”.
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Alejandro Valverde, who took the start of the first stage of Paris-Nice with the jersey of the leader of the mountain classification (yesterday he was the second best time at the top of the hill included in the prologue), finished at place five in Contres after a 201,5 kilometers long stage won by Greg Henderson.

“I would have like to win the stage too”, declared Alejandro Valverde as soon as he crossed the finishing line, “but after he worked a lot in the breakaway to increase the gap as much as possible with the bunch, I was no longer strong enough to defeat a sprinter like Henderson. Anyway I am really happy because of what we achieved today”.

“The stage was a very fast and very nervous one, with many crashed. We were very careful and all the time in front of the race. Our team manager Yvon Ledanois perfectly knew the final of the stage because he came here a few weeks ago to see how the last kilometers look like. He told us that at 23 kilometers from the finish, as soon as we turned right, the wind could play a very important role and that we had to be in front of the bunch right there”.

“And things went exactly the way he told so that we gave it all to make a break in the bunch. The gap on the line reached 17 seconds. It is important most of all because many rivals finished with the second group. Today we showed Team Caisse d’Epargne is a great one and that we will try to be in front every day”, concluded Valverde very happy.
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Alejandro Valverde, who took place 31, 29 seconds behind winner Lars Boom in the prologue of Paris-Nice which took place this afternoon in the French locality of Montfort-l’Amaury on the distance of 8 kilometers, declared just after he crossed the finishing line that:

“Who knows I am a little bit disappointed because I hoped to get a better result in this first important stage but I had rather good feelings and this is a good point considering the difficult stages which we shall have to face at the end of next week”.

“The route of this prologue was not really a good one for my characteristics because it requested to be very powerful. As a consequence I guess I have to be satisfied with what I achieved today”.

“The race will be a very demanding one not only because the course will be difficult but also because of the weather and it looks like it will be even colder than today in the next days. Nevertheless the stages I like will take place only at the end of the next week and I will wait for them being very quiet because I know my team is a very strong and united one”, underlined Alejandro.
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Alejandro Valverde became member of honor of the Association for Rare Diseases D’Genes, with the purpose to give his support to this association and to advance public awareness of those diseases.

Alejandro recorded a support message which made part of the video projected during the official dinner organized on the occasion of the Rare Diseases World Day.

Moreover, the rider from Murcia gave some signed jerseys for a benevolence tombola and a golden jersey he won during the 2009 Tour of Spain, which will be kept at D’Genes head office.

The Association for Rare Diseases and other serious Behavior Troubles is a non- profit-making organization which started in the locality of Totana to help improving life expectancy and life quality of the people who suffer from rare diseases.

More information on www.dgenes.es
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