Alejandro Valverde, who was stopped by the police the first day that he took his bike out onto the road in several months, is going to go "with his foot up" because "a very long season" awaits him and, therefore, "he has no sense to take the best shape now. " This has been reported in an interview that he has granted to the Eurosport channel and which has been echoed in his official Twitter account, where the veteran Murcia rider, who on April 25 turned 40, has recounted what happened to him pedaling after confinement forced by the expansion of the coronavirus.
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"I think that it was legal because to follow the route I had to necessarily go through the place where I was stopped. The agent recognized me and took the data, but I do not know if the complaint will reach me or not. It was the first day and the first day they already hunted me ", he pointed out jokingly. Then, on social networks, he wanted to clarify: "A clarification, there is no fine and I was not doing anything illegal because it was within the limits allowed at all times . "
More seriously he has referred to his training plan to arrive in good condition to the most important tests of the season. "Right now I'm going with my foot up, because there is a lot left to compete and it will be a very long season. There is no point in taking shape at this moment with everything that will come later. That is why I focus on working hard and the plan of training is delayed, "he said.
The Las Lumbreras de Monteagudo rider, current champion of Spain and the world in 2018, has a contract with the Movistar Team until 2021, but with this break motivated by COVID-19 he is rethinking to extend his career one more year, until 2022. "At the moment we are going to see how we got out of this and how I am going in 2021. If I find myself with desire and courage, I will extend it for another year, but everything is in the air. Now I want to enjoy this year and the next to the fullest", He commented while remarking that "the years are weighing and young people come who go very fast."
In 2020 Valverde hopes to participate in classics such as Strade Bianche and Milan San Remo before the Tour de France, a test in which he will be present again, as well as in the Tour of Spain and the World Cup, which will be held in late September in Switzerland. His intention is also to face the Wallonian Arrow and the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, which will take place before a Spanish round that will be "different" by changing dates and moving from September to the period from October 20 to November 8.
"The body is used to resting on those dates and it will be a very different race than usual, not like the Tour, which will not change much," he said. "It is a good calendar with the World Cup in September and a track for climbers. It is a competition that motivates me and it will be necessary to see how I am. I usually take shape quickly, but with age it costs more, and the idea is go to dispute it 100% ", has also indicated the Murcian.