Alejandro Valverde will lead Team Movistar at the Tour de France 2012
Team Movistar announced its final squad for the biggest cycling gala of the year, the Tour de France 2012.
The Spanish team will ride under the watchful leadership of Alejandro Valverde who is marking his Grand Tour return since the suspension.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport handed him a two-year ban for his involvement in the Operacion Puerto doping plot.
Team’s Sports Director Eusebio Unzue, briefed that unlike the last season where the team’s main objective was the stage wins, the team will target the general classifications this year.
“Despite having spent three years without riding a GT, with the lack of knowledge about his chances that means”.
“He's [Alejandro] in great condition to be our leader and we're convinced he can fight for a podium place”.
“Apart from Alejandro, we have strong riders like Cobo, back in a grand tour after winning the Vuelta [2011] and into a race he really loves”.
“I think he's coming in good form, I expect him to ride a good Tour and build to defend his title in the Vuelta later this year”.
Valverde is having an outstanding season with as many as five victories in his bag already including the first overall win at the Vuelta a Andalucia and a stage win and a point’s classifications.
He secured the second overall position during the UCI Inaugural event, the Santos Tour Down Under, along with a stage 5 win at the race.
Alejandro won the third stage of the Paris-Nice and also managed to find the third podium spot after the final general classifications.
The 32-year-old holds as many as ten Grand Tour appearances to his credit including six Vuelta a Espana and four Tour de France participations under his belt.
He secured the 6th and the 9th overall positions during the 2007 and the 2009 editions of the French Grand Tour and is determined to find podium during the coming race.
The Spaniard will be accompanied by , Juan Jose Cobo, José Joaquín Rojas, Rubén Plaza, Vasil Kiryienka, Iván Gutiérrez, Imanol Erviti, Vladimir Karpets and Rui Costa at the coming event.
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