Santos Tour Down Under marked the return of Alejandro Valverde after 19 months
Alejandro Valverde has returned to professional cycling after facing a 19-month suspension because of his involvement in the Operacion Puerto.
He is participating in the inaugural UCI event, Santos Tour Down Under, ongoing in Adelaide, Australia.
Valverde is undoubtedly the main contender for the final general classifications and is highly capable of accomplishing the feat.
Despite the fact that he has the ability to dominate the event, Valverde is not targeting the final general classifications.
He told Sportwereld, "I don't know when I will win again - if it doesn't happen right here in Australia then I won't panic".
Alejandro stated that he will start the season slowly but surely, and will not panic even if he has to wait for a while for the victory.
The Spaniard was impressive during the first day of the race with his 58th place finish during the 149 kilometre stage of the race.
Andre Greipel of Germany won the race, with Alessandro Petacchi and Yauheni Hutarovich securing the second and third positions, respectively.
He explained, “Actually, there is only one thing I worry about: Will I, at the end of a hard race, still have the same finishing abilities as in the past? The explosive power to drop the remaining riders and the better sprinters?”
The 31-year-old holds four Tour de France appearances and rode the Vuelta a Espana on six different occasions. He won the Vuelta a Espana 2009, including a combinations classification at the event.
Valverde’s absence from the sport raised a new classics specialist, Philippe Gilbert, who will now be a very tough challenge for the Spaniard. Gilbert dominated the UCI Elite Men’s rankings with a total number of 698 points.
Cadel Evans achieved the second position, with Alberto Contador at the third place. Both Gilbert and Evans are representing BMC Racing Team for the 2012 season.
Gilbert will target the classics and Evans will help the team during the stage events, with Tour de France as his top priority.
Only time will tell, if Alejandro can find his lost glory to claim the season with the Grand Tours and London Olympics as his main targets.
Tags: