Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde is eligible to return to racing in five months time, and reports that things are on schedule for him to be able to resume at a high level. He has been training hard during his two year suspension and believes that he will fight for future Grand Tour success. The 31 year old won the Vuelta a España in 2009.
“I still have legs to win a big one. I’d hope any of the three,” he told Marca.
“I'm training very hard, doing many miles and come as close as I can to the level of competition,” he elaborated, adding that he is feeling good “both physically and mentally. I've been well these months. I have had time to kick back and learn from the experience. I have not thought much about what happened.”
What happened was that Valverde was implicated in Operacion Puerto in May 2006, and fought suggestions that he had used banned substances. The case went through various trials, and some key decisions were made against him. The first was when the Italian Olympic Committee CONI banned him for two years, comparing DNA samples from blood bags seized in the Puerto raids with blood samples it took from him when the 2008 Tour de France visited Italy.
That ban applied only to Italian events, but the UCI and WADA successfully appealed the Spanish Federation RFEC’s decision not to sanction him. This led to a worldwide ban of 24 months, although it was backdated to the start of the 2010 season. He had raced for several months prior to the decision, with all of those results subsequently being annulled.
Valverde previously competed with the Caisse d’Epargne team and is thought likely to return to its successor, Movistar. He went for rides with the team at its pre-season training camp in Majorca, and it has made clear that it wants him back at the helm. It currently lacks a big team leader.
In March general manager Eusebio Unzue said that he wants him back. “Because of our personal and professional relations and also because of his knowledge of our structure, Valverde will be with us again next year,” he predicted to El Diario de Navarra.
Unzue said that the team would do what it could to ensure he is wearing its colours in 2012. “Valverde is one of the greats and he will be on the list of several other teams, of course. The riders of a certain level are of interest to many teams. On our part, we are trying to help Alejandro during this year and a half of suspension so that he doesn’t lose his brilliance, and then we hope to find an agreement for his return.”
A decision is likely to be made in the weeks ahead. Valverde is thought to have maintained his links with the team. Others could swoop, of course, but Movistar will fight to ensure that he comes back on board.