The team announced that it will hold its 2012 presentation next week, featuring “Alejandro Valverde's official presentation as a new Movistar Team rider, wearing the jersey the team will wear during the 2012 season.”
Valverde never tested positive but was banned in Italy after DNA tests on blood samples linked him to the Operacion Puerto doping scandal. The Spanish Cycling Federation refused to rule on his case but the ban was extended world-wide from January 1, 2010 until December 31, 2011 after the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Having previously ridden for the squad now known as Movistar - formerly Caisse d'Epargne - Valverde's return to Eusebio Unzue's team had long been expected. He trained with the team last February and in March team manager Unzue said the team was counting on his return. And in late October Valverde acknowledged that his negotiations with the team were “very advanced”.
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