The king of La Vuelta

Only a few cyclists can boast of victories in more editions of La Vuelta a España. Actually, only one (Domingo Perurena). After his triumph this Sunday in Caminito del Rey, in the second stage of the race, Alejandro Valverde adds successes in eight different seasons. This fact highlights even more the excellent numbers of a rider who has reached 120 victories as a professional, 12 of them this season, and who has won ten stages of the Spanish round.

The tenth arrived in Malaga, in a hard day marked by the heat and with a tough final in Caminito del Rey. It was more difficult than expected, with just 30 riders fighting for the victory in the final kilometers. Movistar Team helped to control the dangerous movements in that decisive phase of the stage, with a great work of the Portuguese Nelson Oliveira. However, it was Valverde himself who responded within the last kilometer to the hard attack of Laurens De Plus. When he was hunted, the Murcian got over the Polish Michal Kwiatkowski.

Quotes: I have trained well and the shape I hoped for the Tour came to me now. I had not won for a while, so I’m very happy to achieve it. I calculated the distance with De Plus, then I attacked at 600 meters to reach the end. I saw Kwiatkowski coming, I let him pass and after the curve I passed him again. I have already achieved a goal, which was to get a victory, and now I will go day by day. Step by Step.

Photo: Luis Ángel Gómez / Unipublic