Movistar Team (Spain) - Vuelta a España (st. 8).

Alejandro gets boxed in several times into run-in towards Vuelta a España stage eight finish; ultimately surges to beat Sagan (BOH) and claim his second victory in this year’s race, becoming the most successful rider ever (98) in Movistar Team colours since 1980.

A climber against stage racers, a classics rider against spring specialists, a sprinter against the fastest men in the peloton. Alejandro Valverde was again the man for all seasons for the Movistar Team at Saturday’s Almadén finish of stage eight in the 2018 Vuelta a España -195km starting from Linares-. And also from today, the marvel from Murcia is the most winning rider for the Abarca Sports organisation, now managed by Eusebio Unzué, since 1980: 98 victories from his (already) 121 as a pro cyclist, leaving behind the all-time record from Miguel Indurain he already equalled atop Caminito del Rey last Sunday.

The Las Lumbreras native had to surmount several moments of difficulty to find a spot at the front in the continuously-uphill last five kilometers. The fight to stay in a good position in the bunch started well before Almadén, with Erviti and Bennati leading the Blue train for ‘Bala’ and Nairo Quintana before Amador and Oliveira set Alejandro up to enter the town in a perfect situation. After the last difficult turn left inside the final kilometer, Valverde had to brake twice, boxed in against the barriers, before he found a line to launch his final rush and beat two top sprinters, Peter Sagan (BOH) and Danny van Poppel (TLJ).

Valverde:

13 victories in the 2018 season, half of the Movistar Team’s tally of 26 since January- remains in 2nd place overall in La Vuelta, now 37″ behind Rudy Molard (GFC), while Quintana, also away from troubles inside the main group, stays in 8th, 1’14” down. The two, together with their six team-mates, will have to tackle a huge mountain test on Sunday, over the longest climbs the riders have faced since Málaga’s depart: 200km starting at Talavera de la Reina and crossing the Sierra de Gredos, with three categorized ascents, before a serious ascents towards the La Covatilla ski resort in Béjar.

Reaction:

Alejandro Valverde:

“I do am really surprised with this victory, to be honest. Even if I knew this finish would be tougher than a normal sprint, I didn’t expect it to be that steep. Arrieta was insisting to me on the radio, after our staff had arrived to the finish before the race, that it was an excellent finish for me. He told me: ‘Just follow the wheel of the one who overtook you yesterday.’ I told him: ‘Look, ‘Arri’, I won’t go chase the stage win. I’ll try to just not lose time, and that’s it.’ If you look at the finish, it was so nervous already before entering Almadén, but the team worked so hard to bring me to the front. Since it was uphill all the way to that roundabout with 500 meters to go, I sort of got into the mood to go forward, follow Peter’s wheel and contest the win.

“At the finishing straight, I wanted to overtake Sagan on the right side, but Peter inadvertently boxed me in, and I was afraid I couldn’t pass. I stopped pedaling for a split second, went to the left-hand side, Nizzolo was also sprinting from there, I hesitated a bit… until I saw an empty space to go for my sprint, and I could overtake Peter from there. It’s a victory which gives you massive motivation. Beating Sagan, who had this stage marked down as a clear chance, and put all of his team to work at the front of the bunch – it’s just spectacular.

“We’ll carry on with tomorrow’s stage with a mentality of remaining up there with the top contenders, and hopefully have a hot at the red jersey. Up until today, my goal was not losing time and claiming stage victories, like the two I’ve obtained. Tomorrow’s stage will be a clearer picture of what could happen in the remainder of the Vuelta. Nairo is feeling great, and either me or him -hopefully both of us- will try to stay there. After La Covatilla we’ll see if we focus entirely on Nairo’s chances or it’s my task to still contest the race alongside him. What I’m right now is really, really calm: two stage wins… it’s a relief for me.”

Picture (c): Luca Bettini / BettiniPhoto.net.