By Antonio J. Salmerón
The Vuelta a España general director Victor Cordero confirmed to El Faro de Murcia that "We will also put into practice the Ethical Code in the next Vuelta a España. There could be surprises and changes with respect to which cyclists and teams will finally participate in it."
Cordero is in agreement with the anti-doping fight carried out by the Tour de France, and insisted that "No cyclist implied in any doping investigation will participate." As far as the Astana team is concerned, Cordero explained, "The only reason the Tour of France did not allow to Astana to take part in the Tour of France is that it did not have enough riders in it," adding that he considered it "possible" that Astana would ride the Vuelta.
On the other hand, Cordero will wait until the final days before the start of the Vuelta a España before making a decision on whether Comunidad Valenciana will race. "It is advisable listen to the court decision as a consequence of the last declarations," he said. The potential loss of the Comunidad Valenciana wild card will not be covered by any other team, "because, once the invitations were assigned in March, there does not exist the possibility of being replaced by any other one."
Cordero said that he was happy about the participation of Alejandro Valverde in the Vuelta. "Valverde is a pride for us, as well as for Spanish cycling. At the beginning of this year, I said to him that it did not make sense to leave the Vuelta aside. Valverde is a charismatic leader, who we already enjoyed in 2003, when he finished third, just as in 2004. He is a type of rider who interests us, because he pleases the fans a lot."
