Alejandro Valverde’s long goodbye to professional cycling finally ends this weekend in Il Lombardia, but regardless of the outcome, the Movistar veteran, who first raced the Italian Classic in 2003, says he will be leaving on a high note.
Second in the Coppa Agostoni, fourth in the Giro dell’Emilia after working for teammate and winner Enric Mas, and third in Tre Valli Varesine, after a Vuelta a España where Valverde was not in his top shape after a hit-and-run accident and illness undermined his buildup, the 42-year-old has shown a strong vein of form in his final week of racing.
Valverde has already taken three runners’ up spots in Il Lombardia and he claimed a notable fifth last year. But as he told reporters earlier this week in a general review of his career, “finishing on the podium of the Tour [in 2015] feels like I’d won it. I ended up settling for winning a World Championships [in 2018].”
Explaining his decision to finish racing at Il Lombardia, rather than ending it all at the Vuelta a Espana, the Grand Tour which was most emblematic of his career, Valverde pointed out that the Italian Monument “has almost always been my last race and I like it a lot. I’ve finished on the podium on a number of times, and this year, seeing my form, why couldn’t I win it?”
Valverde explained that following his accident and catching the ‘flu, his last Vuelta a España, the Grand Tour where he shone the most in his career, had been an uphill struggle. But after a week’s break following a memorable homage to Valverde in Madrid on the final day of racing, he’d now found “the real form I've had for a while.”
The perennial question of whether Valverde, given his current top condition, felt tempted to continue for another year could hardly be lacking in his last press conference as an active rider. But with his career already spanning three decades, Valverde recognised the thought of racing on in 2023 had crossed his mind, only for it to be rejected.
“I prefer to leave the sport the way I’m doing now, with a good feeling. Even if on Saturday I don’t end up doing anything, things have gone well recently.”
Strategies for Saturday's last battle could well involve some kind of two-pronged attack on victory, he said, given Enric Mas is clearly in such good shape as well. But in any case, he said, ”I’m leaving cycling at the right moment, in top form. I’ve rarely had such good condition as I have now.”
“I’m not the one who should be saying this,” Valverde concluded about what his retirement, “but I’d say they [the Spanish fans] are losing a great rider who has given his utmost to help the public, his team and the rider himself take pleasure from the sport.”
Following a battle for what would be the fifth Monument of his career and 134th pro victory, Valverde has yet to decide on his post-racing future, although he confirmed it is certain to be linked to the Movistar team.
