Despite recent reports suggesting that he had been suspended by his team pending the result of his latest CAS appeal, Alejandro Valverde has said that he will be back in action this Saturday in the Grand Prix Miguel Indurain.
The 29 year old Caisse d’Epargne rider has a full programme of racing mapped out, including the Volta a Pais Vasco plus Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He may also ride Amstel Gold, although this is subject to verification.
“This week I will follow my preparation for my next races: the Grand Prix Miguel Indurain, the Tour of the Basque Country and the Ardennes Classics,” he said on his personal blog. “I am really motivated and hungry for racing.”
Without referring directly to the media reports which indicated Caisse d’Epargne had sidelined him, he subtly played down any suggestion that this is the case. “While waiting for a decision about my future and during a week in which no race was in my program, I spent a lot of time with my three sons. We had a great time.
“Last week I trained very well. I made two long training sessions of about 5 hours and 180 kilometers. The other days I rode about 140 kilometers. I also worked with my time trial bike.”
Since the start of 2010, Valverde has faced two hearings with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The first was a bid by him to overthrow his two year ban on racing in Italy, but this was rejected by CAS. The UCI has the option to extend this globally. Valverde has appealed this decision to the Swiss federal courts.
The second CAS appeal was taken by the UCI and WADA, and is a bid to force the Spanish cycling federation to open disciplinary proceedings against the rider. It had previously refused to do so, despite his implication in Operación Puerto.
Valverde has won many large events in recent years, including two editions of Lìège-Bastogne-Liège plus one of Flèche Wallonne. He’ll look to repeat in both races and to improve on his previous best of second in the Volta a Pais Vasco.