Rafael Valls will relish second appearance at the Tour
Spanish prospect Rafael Valls has said he is eager to make an impact with his new team Geox in 2011.
The 23-year-old was one of the most exciting young riders to watch at the 2010 Tour de France, where he finished seventh in the young riders' classification for Footon-Servetto-Fuji.
In July, it was announced that Footon-Servetto-Fuji's Italian manager Mauro Gianetti had landed a sponsorships deal with Geox, a shoe manufacturer, for the 2011 season.
Geox have signed 2008 Tour-winner Carlos Sastre and last year's Giro d'Italia champion Denis Menchov, with the pair set to lead the team together.
"It's obvious that Denis and Carlos are really experienced riders, and I'll have to profit and learn as much as possible from them in this new season," Valls told reporters about his new environment, adding
that he will not only serve as a supporting rider during his first season with the team.
"The objective is to shine in the one-week stage races right from the start of the spring, such as Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico, and then fighting for a place into the Tour de France lineup. My goal
there will be first helping Sastre and Menchov, and then trying to show my real condition as a free rider."
Tour the highlight of 2010
Valls, who was invited by Tour director Christian Prudhommer to attend the announcement of the 2011 route, also said that the highlight of 2010 was starting cycling's most prestigious event in Rotterdam
on 3 July.
"Even more than the win in [Tour de] San Luis or the breaks in France, the best moment of the season for me was the day when I knew I would be racing the Tour, and especially when I arrived in Rotterdam
with all the atmosphere before and during the race. Those were beautiful days."
In the seventh stage of the race, Valls made a surprise attack on Quick Step's Sylvain Chavanel, finishing only 57 seconds behind the Frenchman on the long ascent up the Lamoura.
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