Alejandro Valverde
Nationality: Spanish
Date of birth: April 25, 1980
Height: 176cm
Weight: 62kg
Team: Movistar
Twitter: @alejanvalverde
Alejandro Valverde won the 2018 UCI Road World Championships, and wore the rainbow jersey through 2019.
His palmarès is one of the most impressive in modern cycling, yet his involvement in Operacion Puerto doping case sullied his reputation and left a huge question mark over the whole of his career.
His only Grand Tour win was the in the Vuelta a España in 2009, but the Spaniard was given a two-year suspension the following year for his use of banned blood-booster EPO.
All of Valverde's 2010 results were negated, but he came back to the sport almost the rider he was beforehand. Almost, but not quite. He has steadily improved since his return, however, and finally secured a podium spot at the Tour de France in 2015, riding alongside Nairo Quintana, who finished second.
As Spanish champion he went on to take a top-10 finish at the 2015 Vuelta a España and top the UCI WorldTour rankings for a second consecutive year.
His quality has never been in question, but it seems a stretch now to imagine him ever adding another Grand Tour overall win to his palmarès.
2017 saw a real resurgence for the Spanish rider as he added a fourth Liège-Bastogne-Liège title and a fifth La Flèche Wallone win to his collection.
Unfortunately a crash in the opening prologue of the 2017 Tour de France put him out of the race, with a broken knee cap that saw him miss the rest of the season and potentially end his long career.
Remarkably, Valverde returned to racing in early 2018 pretty much as he left off, claiming a host of wins including overall victories in the Volta a Catalunya, Abu Dhabi Tour and Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana - and of course the World Championships. This win meant he became the second oldest world champion in history, describing it as his greatest victory to date.
The curse of the rainbow stripes didn't hold onto the Spaniard long, with his first win of the 2019 season being at the UAE Tour in February. He followed this up by winning the National Championships and a stage win at the Vuelta. However, he was unable to retain the rainbow jersey, after the rainy conditions forced him to abandon with 60km remaining. However, his season was marred by a bone adema which put him on the back foot. He finished his season by coming second at Il Lombardia.
-
Sepp Kuss: 'I can fight for the Grand Tours. I can be with the best guys'
Rather than seeking leadership opportunities at lesser teams, Kuss embraces being "second card" for Visma-Lease a Bike
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Is Rigoberto Urán really 'too old' to race his bike?
As the Colombian weighs up retirement age 37, we look at those who carried on despite their age, often with great success
By James Shrubsall 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
-
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
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Giro d’Italia organiser postpones Maglia Rosa presentation after death of Davide Rebellin
Presentation indefinitely postponed by RCS after Rebellin’s sudden death
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Tributes to Davide Rebellin pour in from the global cycling community
Italian recently retired professional cyclist was killed yesterday morning after being struck by a truck
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Six things we want to see in Movistar's ‘The Least Expected Day’ season four on Netflix
The fourth season of the series following the exploits of the Spanish team expected in 2023
By Tom Thewlis 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
-
What I learned from watching season three of Netflix's Movistar documentary ‘The Least Expected Day'
Enric Mas battles to reach the top and 'Superman' brings the drama in the latest instalment of the Spanish Eastenders
By Tom Thewlis Last updated
-
Two cyclists dead and three hospitalised after serious hit and run incident
Driver located and arrested after initially fleeing scene in Catalonia, Spain
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘I was rubbing shoulders with Nibali and Valverde’ - Oliver Knight gets starstruck at Vuelta a Burgos
UAE Team Emirates rider makes big step up in key race before the Vuelta a España
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Man accused of reversing into Alejandro Valverde released with charges
Valverde didn't suffer major injuries in the hit and run incident and has since been released from hospital
By Ryan Dabbs Last updated
-
Alejandro Valverde involved in hit and run incident during training in Spain
Movistar confirm rider suffered no fractures or other injuries
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Alejandro Valverde admits Giro d'Italia 'general classification very difficult because of my age' as he targets stage victory
The Spaniard is hopeful of winning a stage as he competes in the Giro for the just the second time in his career
By Ryan Dabbs Published
-
Alejandro Valverde: Second place at Flèche Wallonne 'is worth as much as a victory'
Spaniard finishes on podium for eight time in final time up Mur de Huy
By Adam Becket Last updated
-
What did we learn from the first elite road races of the year?
Alejandro Valverde is still good; Lotto-Soudal are hungry for results; Biniam Girmay might be a force to be reckoned with
By Adam Becket Published
-
Alejandro Valverde will ride Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España in final season
The Spanish rider consequently won't compete at the Tour de France ever again
By Ryan Dabbs Published
-
Alejandro Valverde confirms he will stay with Movistar for 2022
The Spaniard enters his 18th year with the Spanish-based team, which could be his last
By Ryan Dabbs Published
-
Alejandro Valverde says he'll retire after one more year: 'There's no point in going on any longer'
The Spaniard announced that the 2022 season will be his last as a professional cyclist
By Ryan Dabbs Published
-
Five talking points from stage seven of the Vuelta a España 2021
Team DSM thrive again on a Grand Tour stage, Valverde is out, but Movistar still looking strong - don't miss these moments
By Stephen Puddicombe Published
-
'This won't be my last season': Alejandro Valverde plans to continue racing next year aged 42
Movistar's evergreen star man does not want to quit racing after the Olympics
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Alejandro Valverde says ‘everything I manage to do now is special’ after Critérium du Dauphiné stage win
At 41, Valverde is the oldest ever stage winner in the Dauphiné
By Alex Ballinger Published
-
Alejandro Valverde seals overall victory in Tour of the Basque Country
Primož Roglič wins final stage individual time trial as Alejandro Valverde comes home in second place to seal the overall win
By Owen Rogers Published
-
World champion Alejandro Valverde plans to race at Tokyo 2020 Olympics
The new world champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) says he wants to race until the 2020 Tokyo Games, when he will be 40 years old.
By Gregor Brown Published
-
Tim Wellens wins Ruta del Sol stage five from breakaway as Valverde seals GC
Valverde stayed safe and finished with the same time as his nearest rival in the overall, Alberto Contador
By Richard Windsor Published
-
Alejandro Valverde out of Paris-Nice with illness
Spaniard pulls out citing fever
By Richard Windsor Published
-
Alejandro Valverde has Google Maps to thank for Vuelta stage four win
Movistar's Alejandro Valverde used Google Maps to scope out the final climb of stage four at the Vuelta a España
By Stuart Clarke Published
-
Alejandro Valverde says Nairo Quintana didn't mention he was feeling bad before losing time on the Tourmalet
The Colombian lost more than three minutes and saw his GC ambitions crumble
By Jonny Long Published
-
'I came way closer to the victory than I expected': Valverde vows to return after top-10 Tour of Flanders finish
The world champion says he's not sure if he'll get as close to victory again but that he was happy with his performance
By Jonny Long Published