Movistar abandon ‘trident’ Tour de France tactic as Alejandro Valverde due to miss 2019 race

The Spanish team have confirmed their leaders of next year’s three-week races

Alejandro Valverde, Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa on stage 15 of the 2018 Tour de France (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Movistar will abandon their triple-header approach to the Tour de France in 2019.

The Spanish WorldTour team backed three horses in this year’s Tour, with the aim of pressuring rivals with multiple threats.

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.