Cycling
The 41-year-old cyclist from Murcia will participate from February 16 to 20 in the 68th edition of the Ruta del Sol, a test that he has won five times.
The Murcian Alejandro Valverde returns to the Vuelta a Andalucía in the year of his farewell to cycling, being considered a legend of international sports. In Andalusia, ‘El Bala’ has broken all records and has a resume as spectacular as in the rest of his sports career. He is the cyclist who has won the general classification the most times. He did it five times, in three consecutive years, 2012, 2013 and 2014, showing absolute mastery of the race. He returned to climb to the top of the podium in 2016 and to repeat his overall triumph in 2017.
Only in the beginning, still in the Kelme team, he could not win the general of his first Andalusian round in 2003 and even so, despite his youth, he would finish on the podium as third place, behind the Italian Davide Rebellin and his teammate of Pascual Llorente team, which was the final winner of that edition. Among his achievements in Andalusia, the Las Lumbreras cyclist has eight stage victories, being the fourth rider with the most partial victories in the entire history of the Vuelta a Andalucía, only surpassed by other legendary cyclists such as Freddy Maertens (13), Dietrich Thurau (10) and Óscar Freire, who achieved 9 stages.
Joaquín Cuevas, CEO of Deporinter, the organizing company of the Ruta del Sol Cycling Tour of Andalusia, stressed that “the presence of a living cycling legend in our race is a dream come true. Seeing Alejandro, whom we have so much admiration and affection for all cycling fans and who can say goodbye to our career is a satisfaction for Deporinter and an unrepeatable opportunity for the cycling lover to thank a champion like Valverde for so much. “, he pointed.
Cuevas also highlighted the interest of the Murcian cyclist and his Movistar Team in being in Andalusia between February 16 and 20 and being able to participate in a race in which both the team and the rider have achieved so many successes. In the year of his farewell, Valverde, who will hang up his bicycle at 42 after a legendary race, will also participate in the Vuelta a Murcia, will return to the Giro d’Italia and receive the tribute of the fans in a Vuelta a España in which it will be honored with a stage that will start from the ElPozo Alimentación factory in Alhama.
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