The World Championships: Alejandro Valverde's white whale

Alejandro Valverde is one of the favourites to win the gold medal in the men's World Championships road race on Sunday. If he does so, he will finally banish a 15-year itch and purge a long line of missed chances.

Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.