Alejandro Valverde eyeing the overall victory at the Paris-Nice 2012
Alejandro Valverde is still in contention to claim the overall victory at the Paris-Nice 2012. He is currently occupying the seventh overall spot after the stage 4 classifications.
The Spaniard had an ideal start to his 2012 campaign and has already bagged four victories in the young season.
He claimed the first overall spot at the Vuelta a Andalucia and also succeeded at the second stage of the race.
Valverde grabbed the second overall position at the Tour Down Under along with the fifth stage win at the race.
He has also achieved the third stage at the Paris-Nice and is now targeting the overall victory at the race.
Alejandro told dhnet.be, “I’m still focused on the general classification, there are still stages that are going to suit me, beating Wiggins is going to be very difficult, but it’s possible”.
The 31-year-old was banned from professional cycling because of his involvement in the Operacion Puerto.
As per the anti-doping rules, any cyclist coming back from the suspension cannot secure any WorldTour ranking points for a period of two years.
Valverde, however, is keen to focus his attention in filling his bag with the victories and is not concerned about earning the UCI points at the moment.
He noted, “The important things are victories and podiums, and this one here is very important, it’s Paris-Nice, the first big international stage race of the year”.
The Spaniard is also targeting the Tour de France as the biggest goal for his 2012 season and is optimistic to secure stages at the French race.
He has participated in as many as ten Grand Tours throughout his career. The overall victory at the Vuelta a Espana 2009 is Valverde’s best performance at the Grand Tours.
Valverde has cited that Philippe Gilbert is a major threat to all the top cyclists in the current season but if only he finds his previous form.
“If it’s the same Philippe Gilbert as last year, he’ll be hard to beat. He was very strong and quite simply the best,” he voiced.
Besides the Tour, Alejandro will also ride the Ardennes classics, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Amstel Gold Race and Fleche de Wallonie.
He is currently 20 seconds behind the race leader Bradley Wiggins and, with four more stages to go, he is definitely amongst the favourites to climb the top podium spot.
Tags: