Alejandro Valverde to return to racing with new Movistar gravel squad
Spanish veteran will pin on numbers in his first ever gravel race at ‘La Indomable’ in Spain on 23 April


The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Alejandro Valverde is set to return to competitive racing, as part of Movistar’s new gravel squad.
Last year, the Spanish veteran announced that he would retire from the road at the end of the 2022 campaign.
However, in an announcement from Movistar this morning, the team confirmed that the 42-year-old would return to competition as part of its new gravel arm, a first amongst current WorldTour teams.
The first two races on the calendar for the Movistar gravel squad are both in Spain. First up is ‘La Indomable’, a 105 kilometre race in Southern Andalusia, on Sunday 23 April, followed by the Traka in Girona on 29 April.
The gravel squad will include riders from Movistar’s road, and esports teams. Iván García Cortina will be competing alongside Valverde, as well as Ana Dillana and Hayley Simmonds of the esports squad.
According to the team, Valverde, Dillana and Simmonds are set to race at ‘La Indomable’, with Cortina joining the squad a week later at the Traka.
Spanish brand Gobik, the team's current kit supplier, has produced a new jersey for the team's new project. According to a press release from Movistar, the design “honours the adventurous and non-conformist spirit of gravel”.
Movistar have said that more riders will be announced for the new project “in the near future”.
As a discipline, gravel racing has massively risen in recent months, with the inaugural gravel World Championships taking place in late October last year in the Veneto region of Italy. The men’s race was won by Belgium’s Gianni Vermeersch, with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot taking the elite women’s title.
Multiple road stars were on the start line including Mathieu van der Poel, Magnus Cort, Peter Sagan and Greg van Avermaet. Sagan also rode the Unbound gravel event in Kansas, USA in June.
After a successful first edition, the second edition of the gravel world championships will be held in Italy again in 2023 before the competition moves to Belgium for 2024.
Looking ahead to when the competition ventures to his home roads, Wout van Aert has previously suggested that he would consider including the gravel world championships in his schedule for the current year.
“I watched the last edition on television and thought it was nice to see,” Van Aert said regarding last year’s race won by his fellow Belgian Vermeersch. “I was positively surprised at how much attention this world championship received. I think the world championship on gravel has a great future.”
“Yes, I know that the gravel worlds will be held again in Italy next year and then in Belgium the following year,” Van Aert added. “Maybe I’ll do it in the years to come.”
🔙🐐 @alejanvalverde | #MovistarTeamGravelSquad pic.twitter.com/1dkfSdweAxApril 4, 2023
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Tom is a News and Features Writer at Cycling Weekly, and previously worked in communications at Oxford Brookes University. He has reported from a wide range of races and events including the Tour de France and World Championships.
-
-
'They aren't just good, they're brilliant' - Meet Great Britain's junior super-talents
There’s a golden generation of women coming through the GB ranks
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Primož Roglič confirms he will leave Jumbo-Visma
Giro d'Italia champion does not reveal his destination for 2024 yet, though
By Adam Becket Published
-
Retirement lasts just one month for Annemiek van Vleuten as Gravel World Championship ride calls
Dutchwoman insists that she has no interest in gravel racing career
By Adam Becket Published
-
Opinion: There will never be another bike rider like Annemiek van Vleuten
The flying Dutchwoman could almost win it all, but now her era has almost ended, she should be remembered as the greatest
By Adam Becket Published
-
Will Barta's Canyon bike snaps in Giro d'Italia stage 10 crash
Movistar rider was caught up in incident in sodden day at Giro d'Italia
By Adam Becket Published
-
Still got it: Alejandro Valverde takes victory on gravel debut in Spain
42-year-old prevails in his first event since road retirement
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Women’s WorldTour calendar 'a mess' and 'a nonsense' says Movistar boss
The UCI must invest in the bottom of the pyramid to ensure the sport’s future says Sebastián Unzué
By Owen Rogers Published
-
Wout van Aert moots building gravel world championships into 2023 programme
Belgian rider says gravel racing has a ‘great future’ as he considers worlds participation next year
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Movistar quick to quash Mark Cavendish signing report
Italian press speculation over future of sprinter denied by Spanish team
By Adam Becket Published
-
Changing of the guard: Seven top cyclists who have retired in 2022
Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde and Tom Dumoulin have all called time on their careers this year
By Tom Thewlis Published