Valverde gains time on Nibali in Vuelta a Espana

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) said on Sunday that without Nicolas Roche’s late attack, he was convinced he could have won, and although on the race’s first summit finish he finished fifth, on Monday he came much closer, finishing second behind American Chris Horner (RadioShack Leopard) and moving up to sixth overall in the Vuelta a España after stage 3.

Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.