Alejandro Valverde

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Alejandro Valverde


image_caption = Valverde at the 2005 Tour de France
fullname = Alejandro Valverde Belmonte
nickname = "Bala Verde" (The Green Bullet)
"El Imbatido" (The Unbeaten)
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|4|25
country = ESP
height = height|m=1.78
weight = convert|61|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
currentteam = Caisse d'Epargne
discipline = Road
role = Rider
ridertype = All-rounder
proyears = 2002–2004
2005–
proteams = Comunitat Valenciana/Kelme
Caisse d'Epargne
majorwins = (2008)
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (2008)
updated = June 29, 2008

Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born April 25, 1980 in Las Lumbreras, Murcia) is a Spanish road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam Caisse d'Epargne. Valverde's biggest wins have been Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship. He has twice collected the silver medal in the UCI Road World Championships, in 2003 and 2005. Valverde is rare in combining different specialities in road bicycle racing, being a strong climber, time trialist and sprinter. He is the current Spanish National Road Race Champion.

Biography

Valverde came from a cycling family, his father Juan was an amateur bicycle racer and bought him a bike when he was six years old. [cite web
title = El portento del pelotón es icon
publisher = elperiodicodearagon.com
date = 14 October 2003
url = http://www.elperiodicodearagon.com/noticias/noticia.asp?pkid=81183
accessdate = 2008-01-17] His brother Juan Francisco was also an amateur road racing cyclist. Valverde's first race was in Jumilla, in his region of Murcia, and he finished second. On the following week he won his second race in Yecla. [cite web
title = Valverde: Siempre campeón, en la bici y en la noche de bodas es icon
publisher = as.com
date = 13 July 2005
url = http://www.as.com/mas-deporte/articulo/valverde-siempre-campeon-bici-noche/dasmas/20050713dasdaimas_3/Tes
accessdate = 2007-12-29] He allegedly took more than fifty consecutive victories between 11 and 13 years old, earning him the nickname "El Imbatido" (The Unbeaten).cite web
title = Valverde: "Mis sueños de niño se están haciendo realidad" es icon
publisher = as.com
date = 24 December 2005
url = http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/ciclismo/es/desarrollo/603338.html
accessdate = 2007-12-29]

Amateur career

Due to his many wins, Valverde was offered to ride for the elite amateur team Banesto based in Navarra, some distance away from his home in Murcia. Perhaps due to the exhaustion from having to travel back and forth every weekend, his performance suffered while with the team.

He moved to the development team of the Kelme professional squad and was coached by Francisco Moya, whom he credited with helping him become a better cyclist. Kelme also promised to allow him to move to the professional squad if he showed good performance. At the end of his first season with the Kelme amateur squad, they offered to move him to the professional squad.

Kelme (2002–2004)

Valverde turned professional in 2002 when he signed a contract with the Spanish team Kelme, with whom he stayed until the end of the 2004 season. During his time with Kelme he had a breakthrough year in 2003 Vuelta a España, where he won two stages and finished third in the General classification. That year he also won the Vuelta a Mallorca and a stage in Vuelta al País Vasco and other Spanish races like GP Primavera and GP Villafranca de Ordizia. He ended the season with a second place in the 2003 UCI Road World Championships behind Igor Astarloa after winning the sprint ahead of Peter Van Petegem and Paolo Bettini. [cite web
title = Day 6 - October 12: Elite Men Road Race, 260.4 km
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 12 October 2003
url = http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2003/worlds03/?id=emr
accessdate=2007-12-29]

In the 2004 season he decided to stay with Kelme despite the team's financial woes and offers from other teams. He went on to win the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, the Vuelta a Murcia, a stage in the Vuelta al País Vasco, the Vuelta a Burgos and taking fourth in the 2004 Vuelta a España. Although he won a stage in the Vuelta, he was injured in a crash that forced him to downscale his ambitions in the overall classification. [cite web
title = X-rays OK for Valverde
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 15 September 2004
url = http://cyclingnews.co.nz/news.php?id=news/2004/sep04/sep15news2
accessdate=2007-12-29] He also participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Caisse d'Epargne (2005–)

Valverde joined the UCI ProTeam Illes Balears-Caisse d'Epargne in 2005. [cite web
title = Valverde confirms close deal with Illes Balears
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 19 October 2004
url = http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2004/oct04/oct19news2
accessdate=2007-12-29] He won the last stage in Paris-Nice and finished second overall behind Bobby Julich. He also took two stages in the Vuelta al País Vasco. In his first ever appearance at the Tour de France, he won the 10th stage of the Tour de France ahead of Lance Armstrong, whom he beat in the sprint into Courchevel at the end of a mountain stage in the Alps. [cite web
title = Stage 10 - Tuesday, July 12: Brignoud - Courchevel, 181 km
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 12 July 2005
url = http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2005/tour05/?id=results/tour0510
accessdate=2007-12-29] After Stage 12, he was in 5th place on GC, 3 minutes and 16 seconds behind Lance Armstrong. He was also leading in the Young Rider Classification (white jersey), with a 3 minute and 9 second lead on Armstrong teammate Yaroslav Popovych. [cite web
title = Stage 13 - Friday, July 15: Miramas - Montpellier, 173.5 km
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 15 July 2005
url = http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2005/tour05/?id=results/tour0513
accessdate=2007-12-29] However, Valverde was forced to withdraw from the Tour during the 13th stage because of a knee injury. Valverde recovered barely in time for the UCI World Cycling Championship in Madrid, Spain. The injury of Óscar Freire, who was the Spanish team captain, forced him to become the team leader, despite having had only one day of competition before the World's. Amazingly, he was able to be competitive and finished second to winner Tom Boonen. [cite web
title = Race 6 - September 25: Elite men's road race, 273km
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 25 September 2005
url = http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2005//worlds05/?id=results/worlds056
accessdate=2007-12-29]

2006

In 2006, Valverde won a stage in the Vuelta al País Vasco, finishing 2nd overall and capturing the points competition. He then completed a prestigious double in the Spring classics, winning La Flèche Wallonne and taking victory four days later at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Valverde subsequently won a stage in the Tour de Romandie finishing 3rd overall. Valverde planned to challenge at the 2006 Tour de France, and has stated that he hopes to win in the future. He went to the Pinarello bicycle factory in Treviso, Italy, to optimize his time-trialing performance. In fact he started among the favourites for the Tour after the withdrawal of Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso due to a doping investigation. However, on the third stage of the 2006 Tour de France, Valverde crashed, and had to abandon the Tour with a fractured right collarbone. His ambition to win a Grand Tour shifted to the Vuelta, later that year.

Valverde entered the 2006 Vuelta as the top favorite. Since he did not ride a full Tour de France he was in better condition then some of the other candidates for the victory: Menchov (title defender) and Sastre both ended in the top 10 of the 2006 Tour de France and were expected to be somewhat fatigued. Valverde won the 7th stage and dominated mountain stages, earning him the gold leader jersey after stage 9. Valverde lost the jersey however due to the aggressive climbing and attacking of Alexander Vinokourov. In the last time trial, Valverde again lost time on Vinokourov and had to settle for the 2nd place in the overall standings, his second podium finish in a Grand Tour. Following his impressive performance in the Vuelta Valverde won yet another major title, winning the 2006 UCI ProTour with several major races still left on the calendar as his point lead had reached unassailable levels. At the 2006 World Championship, Valverde was considered one of the favorites for the title. Although he did not win, he was able to finish 3rd and claim a bronze medal.

2007

He started 2007 by winning the overall classification at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Vuelta a Murcia. In stage 4 of the Vuelta a Murcia, Valverde accomplished his first win in an individual time trial. [cite web
title = Stage 4 - March 10: Alhama De Murcia - Aledo ITT, 23.3 km
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 10 March 2007
url = http://www.cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2007/mar07/murcia07/murcia074
accessdate=2007-12-29] He also finished third in the Critérium International and fifth in Vuelta al País Vasco. In the Ardennes classics he took second place in both La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, unable to repeat the double victory of 2006 season. In the 2007 Tour de France, Valverde was seen as one of the favorites for the yellow jersey until he had a disastrous individual time trial that diminished his chances of fighting for the overall classification. He subsequently finished sixth overall, eleven minutes behind, and thus finished his first Tour de France after being unable to complete the race in 2005 and 2006. He decided not to race the Vuelta a España in order to prepare for the 2007 UCI Road World Championships. [cite web
title = Monday's EuroFile: Valverde at Burgos; No Vuelta for Astana; Farrar on reserve
publisher = velonews.com
date = 13 August 2007
url = http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/13085.0.html
accessdate=2007-12-29] On August 29 2007, the UCI announced that they prevented Valverde from riding the 2007 UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart because of his possible implication in the Operación Puerto doping investigation to "safeguard the atmosphere and reputation of the World Championships". [cite web
title = Press release : Puerto affair : the UCI seeks disciplinary proceedings against Alejandro Valverde
publisher = uci.ch
date = 29 August 2007
url = http://www.uci.ch/Modules/ENews/ENewsDetails.asp?source=SiteSearch&id=NTIyNA&MenuId=MTI2Mjg&CharValList=633%3B&CharTextList=&CharFromList=&CharToList=&txtSiteSearch=valverde&SelChar214=633
accessdate=2007-12-29] The UCI also called upon the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) to open disciplinary proceedings against the rider, but RFEC refused to comply with the UCI's request, saying there was no new evidence against him. RFEC also included Valverde in its squad for the World Championships. [cite web
title = Spain defy Valverde world champs ban
publisher = uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
date = 20 September 2007
url = http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/20092007/58/spain-defy-valverde-world-champs-ban.html
accessdate=2007-12-29] The matter was taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which authorised Valverde to participate in the 2007 UCI Road World Championships. [cite web
title = Alejandro Valverde Authorised to ride in the World Championships in Stuttgart
publisher = tas-cas.org
date = 26 September 2007
url = http://www.tas-cas.org/en/medias/media3.htm
accessdate=2007-12-29]

2008

In 2008, Valverde showed strong form in the spring. After winning the Vuelta a Murcia, Valverde was focused on training. He announced his readiness with a podium finish in the Klasika Primavera and a triumph at the Paris-Camembert. These successes foreshadowed excellent results in the Ardennes classics: a podium at the Amstel Gold and victory in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Valverde also won the 2008 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and the Spanish National Road Race Championship in June. On July 5, Valverde won the first stage of the 2008 Tour de France. His form faltered in the Pyrenees, and after being dropped on the Col de Tourmalet, eventually losing 5'52" to stage winner Leonardo Piepoli, scrapping hopes of a podium finish. He performed better in the Alps and followed the Tour with a strong victory in 2008 Clasica de San Sebastian, leading out the sprint and holding off Aleksandr Kolobnev and Davide Rebellin. Later, at the 2008 Vuelta a España, he started strong, winning the second stage and wearing the general classification leader on the 3rd one. He was the first week on head positions, but eventually he lost some minutes on few stages and lost any option to podium. However, he ended up in 4th position. Before the participation at the 2008 UCI Road World Championships at Varese, he was mathematically proclammed the 2008 UCI ProTour winner, being his second win on the 4 editions of the competition.

Major achievements

;2001: ESP U23 Road Race Champion;2003: 2nd, World Cycling Championship Road Race: 3rd overall, Vuelta a España:: 1st, Stages 9 and 15:: 1st, Combined Classification:: 2nd, Points Classification: 1st, GP Primavera: 1st, GP Villafranca de Ordizia: 2 stage wins, Troféu Joaquim Agostinho: Stage win, Vuelta al País Vasco: Stage win, Vuelta a Aragón;2004: 4th overall and 1 stage win, Vuelta a España: 1st overall and 3 stage wins, Vuelta a Burgos: 1st overall and 2 stage wins, Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana: 1st overall, Vuelta a Murcia: 1st, Trofeo Cala Millor - Cala Ratjada: 3 stage wins Vuelta a Castilla y León: Stage win, Vuelta al País Vasco: 1st, GP Primavera:2nd Spanish National Road Race Championships;2005: 1st, Stage 10, Tour de France: 1st, Stage 8, Paris-Nice: 1st, Trofeo Manacor: 1st, Trofeo Soller: 1st, Stages 3 and 4, Vuelta al País Vasco: 2nd overall, World Cycling Championships Road Race;2006: "': 2nd Overall, Vuelta a España:: 1st, : 3rd, World Cycling Championships Road Race: 1st, La Flèche Wallonne: 1st, Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 1st, Stage, Vuelta a Murcia: 2nd, Overall, Vuelta al País Vasco:: 1st, Points Classification:: 1st, Stage 1: 3rd, Overall, Tour de Romandie:: 1st, Stage 4: 7th, Overall, Dauphiné Libéré;2007:2nd, Liège-Bastogne-Liège:2nd, La Flèche Wallonne:7th, Amstel Gold Race:5th Overall, Vuelta al País Vasco::3rd, Stage 4:1st, Overall, Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana:1st Overall, Vuelta a Murcia::1st Stage 4:3rd Overall,Critérium International::1st, Points classification: 1st Stage 4, Vuelta a Burgos:6th Overall, Tour de France::2nd, Stage 9:2nd Spanish National Road Race Championships;2008: "':1st Overall, Vuelta a Murcia::1st Stage 4: 2nd, Klasika Primavera: 1st, Paris-Camembert: 3rd, Amstel Gold Race: 1st, Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 1st Overall, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré:: 1st, Points Classification:: 1st, Stage 1, Stage 3 (ITT): flagicon|ESP Champion, Spanish National Road Race:9th Overall, Tour de France:: 1st, Stage 1:: 1st, Stage 6:: 4th, Stage 17 :1st, Clásica de San Sebastián:5th Overall, Vuelta a España:: 1st, Stage 2

External links

*cyclingwebsite|7005
*trapfriis|spain.Valverde.htm

References

Persondata
NAME= Valverde, Alejandro
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Valverde Belmonte, Alejandro; Valverde, Alexandro; Valverde, Alessandro
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Road bicycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH=1980-04-25
PLACE OF BIRTH=Las Lumbreras, Murcia, Spain
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=