This feature appears in the latest issue of Procycling. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
This year Alejandro Valverde rode his 14th season as a professional cyclist and enjoyed his most successful campaign to date with record-setting victories in the Ardennes Classics and that elusive Tour podium. Procycling investigates his remarkable longevity and versatility
He has the season-long consistency of Peter Sagan, and with his first Grand Tour stage wins and GC podium dating back to 2003, he has the longevity of Raymond Poulidor, too. He has a win rate that, back in the day, earned him the Jose Mourinho-like nickname of 'El Imbatido' – The Unbeaten One. His versatility, ranging from World Championship podiums and Ardennes Classics wins to triumphs in bunch sprints, time trials, Tour summit finishes and even a Vuelta a España GC in 2009, is arguably even more profound than the much-lauded diversity of Bradley Wiggins.
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So why, when Alejandro Valverde took a fourth victory in the WorldTour rankings this October, as well as wins in Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège for a third time this April, did it all slip under the radar so quickly?
If in 2015 there were no podium finishes in the Vuelta or Lombardia or the Worlds for Valverde, like in 2014, nor a repeat of his stunning victory in the Clásica San Sebastián, it hardly seemed to register, either. But his Ardennes double, plus a second place in Amstel Gold, as well as Valverde's first ever podium finish in the Tour de France, were major landmarks in a career stretching back to 2002. In turn, these standout successes overshadowed a second National Championships road race title, as well as a last-gasp points jersey win in the Vuelta a España, where he also took a stage. Last but not least, only a crash kept Valverde from pushing Richie Porte, the stage racing giant of the first half of the season, much closer in the Volta a Catalunya. But there, even an injured Valverde nonetheless racked up three stage wins and second overall.
In fact, this has been Valverde's best season since his return from an Operación Puerto-related doping ban in 2012. That ban is a lingering blemish on his career that may well have something – but surely not everything – to do with the muted reaction to his latest successes.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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