Alejandro Valverde of Team Caisse d’Epargne beat the cold and the mountains to claim the overall victory in the 2010 Tour of Mediterranean and his first win of the season.


The last stage of this year’s Tour Med also had the riders enduring nasty weather, but it was not enough to cause the officials to interfere with the race, as they did during the fourth stage last Saturday when the snow and the cold necessitated some delays and modifications to the course, finally forcing the race to be halted with 46 kilometers still to go.


This time, it was left to the cyclists (and the steep climbs) to decide who would be the winners. Valverde was already in control of the whole race and didn’t relinquish his overall lead until the very end, as he placed second behind Francesco Masciarelli of Team Acqua e Sapone. Masciarelli won the stage and Valverde won the event.


Meanwhile, Team FDJeux’s Jussi Veikkanen, who wore the yellow jersey during the last stage, could not keep up with the climbers and had to fall back during the climbs up Mont Faron.


Rinaldo Nocentini of Team Ag2r finished for third place in the stage and second overall for the event, while Tom Danielson of Team Garmin-Transitions had to settle for a decent 14th place finish.

[...]

More…

Spaniard Alejandro Valverde is eager to begin his 2010 season with his team, Caisse d’Epargne. The first half of his schedule is finalized, and he told Spanish daily El Mundo that he will kick things off with the Tour Down Under, and will also be at the Tour de France. After Australia, the Spaniard will go to the Tour Méditerranéen, Tour du Haut-Var, Paris-Nice, Vuelta a Catalunya, and Vuelta al País Vasco. Valverde wants to start off the season strong in order to be most competitive throughout the season. “We’ll see if I can be in better form at the Classics to continue fighting for a win,” he said. Valverde wants to do well in the Tour, but he acknowledges the fact that Contador will be hard to beat. “You have to be realistic – it won’t be easy to beat Alberto Contador. Nevertheless, in a 21-day race nothing is impossible,” he says.[...]

More…

Australia’s Tour Down Under is not going to be lacking star power at all in 2010. Lance Armstrong and Cadel Evans will be joined by Spaniard Alejandro Valverde. Valverde, this year’s Vuelta winner, will be joined by his Caisse d’Epargne teammates Luis Leon Sanchez, Jose Rojas, and team manager Neil Stephens. “There are a lot of riders in this Caisse d’Epargne team who could do well at our race in January. Rojas was impressive here in 2009, winning the Cycle Instead Young Rider Jersey and finishing third in the GC. Rojas will certainly be one to watch in 2010,” says Mike Turtur, director for the Tour Down Under. “Caisse d’Epargne is bringing an impressively strong team with them to Adelaide. With the likes of Valverde, Sánchez and Gutierrez it’s got the calibre of a Grand Tour team. There will now be three Grand Tour winners competing at the Santos Tour Down Under – Valverde, Pereiro and Armstrong,” he adds. Caisse d’Epargne’s lineup for the Tour Down Under: Alejandro Valverde, Luis Leon Sanchez, Jose Rojas, Ivan Gutierrez, Jose Garcia, Mathieu Drujon, and Mathieu Perget.[...]

More…

Vuelta a Espana champion Alejandro Valverde is uncertain whether or not he will be defending his title in 2010, with hopes to race in the Tour de France instead. “The Tour is the race with more international prestige. We’ll see how the season develops. I always take on a race with the maximum guarantees of success. The road always puts everything in its place, but in principle, I will go with the challenge of hoping for everything.” However, Valverde may not even be racing at all come 2010, as Italian authorities think he may have been involved in Operacion Puerto, which dates back to 2006. Valverde couldn’t compete in the Tour this year because of his two-year ban from cycling in Italy, as the Tour includes 80km through Italian territory. The UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency are trying to extend the ban to the rest of the world, but Valverde’s legal team is challenging the Italians’ rights to ban him. A hearing was scheduled for November, but has been postponed. Stay tuned for updates.

[...]

More…