Caisse d'Epargne's Alejandro Valverde, second at the finish line of the Flèche Wallonne behind Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner), admitted that he "lacked the strength to attack in the Mur de Huy", but he was also happy to have remained with the best until the end of the race, according to AS.
Even though he couldn't repeat last year's victory, the Spaniard was satisfied. "I am content. Today I felt much better than in the Amstel Gold Race. The entire team did a phenomenal work and I would have liked to finalise it, but you can't always win, can you. I believe that being there in front, struggling for the first place is a very good sign, primarily for Liège-Bastogne-Liège that will be a very nice race." As to his rivals on Sunday, Valverde expected them to be "the same we saw on Sunday in the Dutch classic and (yesterday) in the Flèche Wallonne.
"In the finish, Danilo di Luca was a bit upset with me because I did not collaborate in the counterattack, but because we had Joaquím Rodríguez alone in front, of course it was not my turn to work. Later on the peloton caught us. I really did not think that they would reach us so fast. In the Mur, it's possible that I lacked a bit strength because I already had attacked before, but in the last meters I recovered to overcome Riccò' and Kessler and finished second", stated the 27 year-old.
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