Valverde: Locked and loaded

By JoE Silva

Alejandro Valverde has been a busy man since winning the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré last month.

Readying for what he hopes will be a successful try at the final podium in the Tour de France, the 28-year-old Caisse d’Epargne rider spent last week getting ready for the Spanish national championships and then concentrating on getting packed for a trip to Brest on France’s coast of Brittany for the Tour. Despite a hectic schedule, Valverde took time out to visit with VeloNews at the Hotel NH Amistad in downtown Murcia, Spain, to talk about the Tour, the national road race and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing.

VeloNews: Can you characterize what a typical training day has been like since the Dauphiné?

Alejandro Valverde: Immediately after the Dauphiné I took some rest but after a few days I went again to the Sierra Nevada to train there a few more days in the mountains, the same way I did it before the Dauphiné. I am now back in Murcia where the weather is very good and I can train softly to maintain my condition. On Sunday I will take part in the Spanish National Championship and after that it will almost be time to move to Brest!

VN: Do you have any position on the lack of time bonuses in this year’s Tour?

AV: Well in fact I did not think about that before my team manager told me it is a pity there will be no time bonus in the first stage because there is a good possibility for me to win it and it could also be a good opportunity to gain time. But this is the organizers’ decision. In some races they are time bonuses and in some others not. We have to do with what we have!

VN: Is there any Tour stage in particular that you made sure to do reconnaissance on?

AV: Oh yes, I went to reconnoiter all the stages in the Pyrenees. The one of Hautacam will be a very hard one. Its difficulty surprised me. We also went in the Alps some days before the Dauphiné to see (and climb!) the hills of the stage that will end at the top of Prato Nevoso and also the next one, with the Col de la Lombarde and the Col de la Bonnette. That is truly a difficult stage! Incredible! I also went in reconnaissance on the course of the first time trial, the one of Cholet. I did that on the occasion of the race ‘Cholet-Pays de Loire’.

VN: There had been some discussion from the Tour organizers about not using radios on certain stages. What’s your position on race radios at the moment?

AV: I hear about that and here also I guess the riders’ opinion will not be asked. Of course it can be interesting to see if things would be different without the radios, but I don’t think so. I believe that the radios are important for safety and that is the main reason while we use them.

VN: Would you have preferred a Tour that featured all the top riders? Leipheimer and Contador included.

AV: Of course! Contador is last year winner and he really deserves to be at the start. I feel very sorry about that but unfortunately I have not the power to change the organizers’ decision.

VN: And Boonen?

AV: I don’t have the elements to judge that situation.

VN: Could you tell us your thoughts about this week’s national championships?

AV: It is a very important race, not only for me, but for all the riders because it is always an honor to wear the national champion jersey during an entire year. I like the course because it is not a flat one as it was supposed to be at the beginning, all the contrary. Last year, Joaquim Rodriguez won the title and I finished the second. A great day for the team! There are some other riders in the team who also dream (of) that red-yellow jersey, like Jose Joaquim Rojas for example, (but) the circumstances will decide the race. If I became the new champion, good! But if I can help a teammate to win, even better! (Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted before the national championship race, which Valverde won.)

VN: Your opinion on the difficulty of this year’s course for the Olympic road race?

AV: I have not seen the course yet, only a graphic and it seems indeed a very difficult course, after about 80km on the flat, it will be 12 km uphill, 12km downhill, 12km uphill, 12km downhill and so on. I also believe that the heat and the pollution will make everything more difficult. But it is a great event and the race will surely be a very interesting one.

FILED UNDER: Road / Tour de France TAGS: Tour de France