Valverde comes out on top again at the Vuelta a Espana
Fifteen years after his first success in the Vuelta a España, the beat just goes on and on for Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in Spain, with no less a star than Peter Sagan (BORA-hansgrohe) roundly defeated by El Bala in the Vuelta’s stage 8 on Saturday.
Second on Friday ahead of Valverde in Pozo Alcon, this time around Sagan did not wait for the Spaniard to start accelerating, but opened fire first on the technical ascent up through the mining town of Almaden.
However, Valverde calculated his effort a little better than the ruling world champion and - as he had done with former rainbow jersey Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) at El Caminito del Rey last Sunday - the Spaniard managed to nip past in the final metres.
Second overall, and dubbed ‘the virtual leader’ of the Vuelta by at least one Spanish newspaper, Valverde comes into Sunday’s crucial mountain stage the best placed of the top names. But the questionmarks over whether he really will make an all-out GC bid remain.
“I was not going to try to lose time, but really from tomorrow [Sunday], we will see what happens, whether we [Movistar] concentrate on [teammate and Vuelta leader Nairo] Quintana, or whether I count as well. Above all, I’m very relaxed about it all,” Valverde said after the 121st win of his career.
“I don’t know if I can get the red jersey, but it’s clear I’m going well. It will be the first real mountain stage of the Vuelta and anything can happen, and I’m going to start the stage with the mentality of trying to be up there.
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