Valverde finishes second La Vuelta
Alejandro Valverde has closed in Madrid another exceptional Vuelta a España. He went with the objective of fighting for stage victorias and comes with the second place in the general classification and one stage victory in Mas de la Costa. This is a historic podium, which returns the world champion’s jersey to one of the first three places in the GCof a three-week race – first to get it in the 21st century -. It is the ninth podium in this type of races for the Movistar Team cyclist.
The list began in 2003 with the third place in this race and one decade and a half later it continues to increase. In fact, Valverde has become the third most veteran cyclist to climb a Grand Tour podium. Numbers and more numbers to try to explain the greatness of one of the best riders in history.
Statements (Movistar Team): “I’m really satisfied with this Vuelta. I didn’t even dare to dream about a second place overall before the start of the race; maybe just about winning a stage, but never to get onto the podium. I think I’ll be in good condition at the World Championships. We’ll have a very strong team, we’re getting together in Alicante next week and so I hope to enjoy some good days with my team-mates before travelling to Yorkshire. We’ve got to be realistic: it will be more of an open race, and our chances will be smaller than in Austria.”
Photo: Dario Belingheri / BettiniPhoto