The rainbow dream

Its time to one of the greatest challenges of the season for Alejandro Valverde. The Murcian cyclist rides on Sunday, in Innsbruck, his twelfth World Championship as a professional. Valverde holds the all time record with six medals (two silvers and four bronzes). This is always a special race, but with an extra point this season, as the organizers of the Austrian event have prepared one of the most demanding circuits of recent years.

This is a race of 265 kilometers, more typical of a mountain stage of the Tour de France than of a World Championship. The riders must complete seven ascents to Igls, a climb of 7.9 kilometers (5,7%) before the final climb to the ‘Hell’ a wall of 7 km with final ramps that reach 28 %.

Alejandro leads a powerful Spanish team, also integrated by Jesus Herrada, David de la Cruz, Omar Fraile, Enric Mas, Jonathan Castroviejo, Ion Izaguirre and Mikel Nieve. In front of them, rivals of the entity of the French Alaphilippe, Bardet and Pinot await; the Italians Nibali and Moscon; the British Simon and Adam Yates; the Polish Kwiatkowski; the Slovene Roglic or the Colombians Quintana, Urán and Henao.