Giro-Tour-Vuelta for the first time
For the first time in his career, Alejandro Valverde is participating in the three Grand Tours in the same season. After the third place on his debut in the Giro d’Italia, including a stage victory, and a sixth position in the overall of the Tour de France, the Movistar Team rider will face next Saturday his eleventh Vuelta a España, one of the last challenges of a busy year in which he already has seven wins. Alejandro will try a record that have only managed Raphael Geminiani (1955) and Gastone Nencini (1957): conclude the three grand tour in the top ten in the same campaign.
La Vuelta has been the three-weeks race where Valverde has achieved better results since his debut in 2002. He reached the final victory in the 2009 edition ahead of Samuel Sánchez and Cadel Evans. In addition he has six podiums and nine partial triumphs, the last, a year ago in Vejer de la Frontera. Therefore, he is one of the key figures in the evolution of the spanish race in recent years.
Valverde reaches la Vuelta in a powerful Movistar Team, which also features Nairo Quintana, Rubén Fernández, Jonathan Castroviejo, Dani Moreno, José Joaquín Rojas, José Herrada, Rory Sutherland and Imanol Erviti. The race is running for six days in Galicia before continuing through northern Spain with finals in La Camperona, Naranco or Lagos de Covadonga. After the first rest day, riders are climbing Peña Cabarga and heading towards the Pyrenees, with finals in Aubisque and Formigal. The time trial of Calpe and the ascent to Aitana are going to resolve this edition of the spanish race.