Winner Valverde eyes Tours of Italy and France
By Alasdair Fotheringham
MADRID, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Alejandro Valverde was quick to name the Tours of Italy and France as his major 2010 targets after success on Sunday in the Tour of Spain.
“I don’t think a victory in either can be more difficult than the Tour of Spain I’ve just won,” the Spaniard told reporters.
“Everybody had doubts over my chances of winning a Grand Tour, but now those doubts have gone.”
Victorious in 59 races in his eight-year career, the Caisse D’Epargne rider said: “I’ve won everything else (except a major Tour) so finally taking one is a very special feeling.
“I didn’t get any stages along the way, but sometimes if you want something big like a Tour you have to sacrifice smaller things.”
Valverde was accompanied onto the final podium by Spain’s Samuel Sanchez, second at 55 seconds, with Australian Cadel Evans in third at 1:32.
“A major stage race is 21-days long, the most consistent rider wins and Alejandro never had a bad day,” Sanchez told reporters.
“I was stronger than him in the time trials, but he knew how to make the most of my errors.”
Barred from racing in Italy since May for alleged links to the Operation Puerto anti-doping investigation, Valverde racked up victories this season in the Tour of Catalonia, the Dauphine Libere and the Tour of Burgos before Sunday’s success.
Italy’s Olympic Committee (CONI) say that blood samples Valverde gave at a doping control when last year’s Tour entered Italy for a stage matched DNA from code-named bags of blood discovered in Operation Puerto, launched in 2006.
Valverde has repeatedly claimed he is innocent and appealed against the ban to the Court of Arbitration of Sport.
Sunday’s final 110-km stage from Rivas VaciaMadrid to Madrid was won in a bunch sprint by Andre Greipel of Germany, his fourth stage victory in this year’s Tour.
“What I’ve done here has far exceeded my expectations, I thought we’d get one stage at most,” the winning Columbia-HTC rider told reporters.
“Instead we ended up with five victories for the squad and on top of that I’ve won the points classification. It’s amazing.”
Valverde’s final objective this season is the world championships next weekend in Mendrisio, Switzerland.
“The important thing is that the Spanish are united as a team,” he said. “If we have the same objectives then anything is possible.”
(Editing by Dave Thompson. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
