Valverde says goodbye with greatness

A 20-year cycling career as a professional goes a long way. So much, as to go around the world (circling the equator line without detours, which is about 40,000 kilometers) almost five times. That is what Alejandro Valverde did during his two decades as a professional, from 2002 to the present 2022 that he is about to finish, but obviously those are not only its greatest merits.

He hangs up his bike at the age of 42, being competitive until the last day of his sports career (6th on October 8 in the Giro de Lombardy) and with a varied, successful record that will last in time: 133 victories, including a World Cup (2018), La Vuelta (2009), stage winner in the three Grand Tours (4 in the Tour, 12 in La Vuelta and one in the Giro), dominator of the Ardennes (5 Flecha -Wallona, ​​4 Liège-Bastogne-Liège…) and a charismatic style and way of running, which is why, in his farewell year, practically every day he put on a number was honored. Even this season Less than six months after turning 43, he finished 10th in the UCI ranking.

An insatiable competitor who leaves him not because they ask him to, nor because of his health, but because he believes that it is time. All these merits and achievements lead him to the Trajectory trophy of the AS Awards 2022 that will be delivered this December in its sixteenth edition. Valverde made the leap to professionalism in 2002 in the ranks of Kelme. Since he was an amateur, he was promising, due to his achievements as a teenager, and he also transferred those successes by competing with the elite. He became known to the general public in 2003, being third in La Vuelta and second in the World Cup that year after his compatriot Igor Astarloa. At that time, he did not know that this career would become one of his great objectives. and that he would have to wait until 2018 to be able to dress in rainbows (seven World Cup medals), but the moment (“it is my favorite victory”) came in Austria.

transfer. It was in 2005 when he made the leap to Movistar, in their different denominations (It was Illes Balears-Caisse d’Epargne when the Murcian landed in the Reynolds/Banesto structure…). From his first success, with a stage in Itzulia (Vuelta al País Vasco in 2003) to his last, the general of the Galician test O Gran Camiño, this year), The one from Las Lumbreras raised his arms every season except 2020an atypical year, marked by the pandemic and with a reduced and compressed calendar (in 2010 and 2011 he did not compete due to being sanctioned).

Considered one of the best runners internationally, not only raises the passion of fans in Spain, since in countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan… he is a figure they admire. “Sometimes I even want to cry, but this is the moment,” Valverde told AS under the dark sky of Bergamo, in his last interview as a professional a few hours after putting on the number that put an end to his career in the region from Lombardy. “I’m always told that if I had had another race calendar in my career… but I don’t regret it at all. Being realistic, I do not miss anything in my record. Obviously there are always ambitious challenges, but I achieved much more than I expected when I started in this. And besides, I really enjoyed it along the way. I wouldn’t change a thing,” he adds.

Today it is not uncommon to see riders with more than 100 victories to their credit, but the strange thing is to see it in someone who is not a pure sprinter (beyond the countless conquests of Eddy Merckx). Mix stages in the aforementioned sprints, mountain, classic, World Championships, grand tours, tAll this with generals included, makes him belong to a select group. However, at 42 years old, Valverde may have dropped his performance, as is the law of life, but he is currently shooting at a high pace every day. “It goes faster than before. There are no races that say that it goes quietly, just in case one day in a grand tour, and not long. It is non-stop from start to finish. The level has also risen in relation to my characteristics: now there are many fast runners in small groups, which is one of my virtues. In that aspect, it is more difficult”, highlights El Bala.

longevity. About his biggest rival, he cites Contador if he had to choose just one, but seeing that some runners started after him and retired before… “I have been in many times competing. At first it was Paolo Bettini, Danilo di Luca, Lance Armstrong. Then, well, Alberto Contador, Purito Rodríguez, Samuel Sánchez… and lastly I would say that Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar. If they are many years on the bike ”, she emphasizes with a smile.

motor lover, especially Formula 1, and a follower of Real Madrid, lValverde’s life has been linked to a bicycle practically since he was conscious. For this reason, now for Natalia, her partner, and the five children of the former runner (the twins Iván and Alejandro, Pablo, Natalia and Alessandra) will find it strange to see the races and that Alejandro is not there. Also himself. “At first it will be strange, but I will continue to be linked to the world,” notify. And it is that he will still be in the Movistar team, although from the car. “My main task will be to ensure that there is more communication between directors, coaches and the runner. Yes, I will be in the car in some races. For example, the idea is to be, among others, in Giro, Tour, Vuelta… but not whole. Five or six days, something like that. I will continue to be seen at the races, ”he explains about his new role.

Once the season was over, he was in Singapore, Japan, Costa Rica… participating in different Criteriums and marches, and it is probable that in the near future he will be seen competing in other types of cycling, although more at an amateur level: “Yes, I would like to be in gravel races and things like that. It will be to have a sporting goal and have fun, which is the same for me. Maybe, without so much insistence or discipline, but my training mornings don’t touch”. Cycling lover.