Spaniard says he’ll keep fighting Gerrans, but is satisfied with what he has achieved thus far
Stage five victor Alejandro Valverde stands a chance of winning his comeback stage race tomorrow but despite the adrenaline rush of taking his first triumph in almost two years today, he wasn’t making any predictions about how things would turn out.
The Spaniard beat Simon Gerrans in a two up sprint to the line at the top of Old Willunga Hill, pulling alongside Gerrans after the latter jumped first, taking the wider line around the final corner and then kicking hard again to edge past before the line.
Speaking after that victory, the Movistar rider made it clear that he wasn’t put too much thought into worrying about the final outcome.
“It’s really difficult,” he said, accepting that things would have to go perfectly in the concluding 90 kilometre street race in Adelaide. “For the moment, we’re going to enjoy this victory and whether we keep this position or not, we’ll finish this race happy.”
After five stages of the WorldTour race, he and the race leader are exactly level on both time and points. Had Gerrans won, the Australian would have pulled ahead thanks to the time bonus, but he couldn’t match Valverde’s speed.
He took the jersey by virtue of countback, with UCI rule 2.6.015 relating to previous stage placings coming into play. It states that if the riders can’t be separated by time, then ‘the placings obtained in each stage shall be added’ to see who should be ahead.
Gerrans placed 35th on day one, was third on stage two, then has been 20th, 17th and second. Valverde was 58th, fourth, 54th, 33rd and first.
Adding those placings gives Gerrans a clear margin, meaning that if he finishes in the same bunch, Valverde needs to be 73 places ahead of him. That’s highly unlikely to happen, and so the Spaniard essentially needs to pick up a time bonus along the way.
There are two Jayco intermediate sprints offering three, two and one second for those who are to the fore, as well as the finishing sprint. Ten, six and four seconds will be available there.
Valverde would normally be considered faster than Gerrans, even if the Australian pipped him on stage two. However GreenEdge is likely to let breaks go clear to mop up the early sprint seconds, meaning that Valverde’s Movistar team will have to work hard to keep things together and also to try to position him well.
At the finish, he’ll be up against the likes of Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol), Oscar Freire (Katusha) and Gerald Ciolek (Omega Pharma Quick Step), three riders who are known for their sprinting abilities on the flat.
He’ll try, but he knows that it’s doing to be difficult. “Obviously, if we can win, we’ll play all chances, but if we finish this way, I’m content with the result,” he said. “We don’t rule anything out, but we’ve got to be conscious it’s really hard and tomorrow is a special stage.”
Whatever happens, Valverde will leave Australia feeling that his career is back on track. He was banned from May 31st 2010 until the start of this season due to his part in Operacion Puerto. Although a significant number of cycling fans have said they are not happy to see him winning again, taking the victory shows that his hard work has kept him in condition.
“I couldn’t resist tears at the finish,” he admitted after the presentation. “In terms of sentimental value, I’d say this is the most special victory in my career. There’s been hard months of training at home, taking care of myself with no competition... and you remember all of that.”
He dedicated the win to his team and also to former Movistar rider Xavi Tondo, who passed away in a tragic accident in May. He'll repeat those dedications tomorrow if he manages to pull off the victory but, either way, he is set for a place on the final podium of the event.