Bike Reviews » Alejandro Valverde

Valverde Contests Suspension Ruling

meredith — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:27:46 +0000

The Spaniard, Alejandro Valverde is not going to give up without a fight after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) slapped a two year suspension on him based on the grounds of the evidence taken from Operacion Puerto case. In a statement, Valverde vowed to take the case to the Swiss Court according to his press agent.

The failure of the Spanish Cycling Federation to implement disciplinary action against Valverde brought down the ruling of the CAS which was filed by the UCI and World Anti-Doping Agency against the Spaniard. The DNA testing which implicated Valverde due to blood evidence involving the case was enough to impose a suspension. This was based on the ruling “use or attempted use by a rider of a prohibited substance or prohibited method.” However, there was no evidence enough to nullify all of Valverde’s track record prior to the court ruling.

In a court statement,…

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WADA Pushes for Worldwide Valverde Ban

meredith — Fri, 14 May 2010 00:28:44 +0000

Alejandro Valverde’s career might soon come to a close as the World Anti-Doping Agency is pushing to have the Spaniard under a two-year ban from the sport. Olivier Niggli, WADA legal attorney shares that WADA is unhappy over Valverde who continues to compete and bag wins even if there is evidence that links him to the Operación Puerto doping scandal in 2006.

In March 2010, the Court of Arbitration for Sport cemented Valverde’s ban in Italy. Another sanction is expected but Niggli is afraid that it would be backdated to May 2009. This will mean that Valverde can come back to the sport in 2011.

Niggli shares his apprehension, “This is the biggest risk we face in this affair. This affair is frustrating. It’s really unbearable to see Valverde winning the Tour de Romandie while he has been banned (in Italy). We have a decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport…

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Valverde is 2010 Tour Med Champion

Emmanuel — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:59:17 +0000

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…

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Alejandro Valverde Looks Forward to His 2010 Schedule

Chris — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:54:41 +0000

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. …

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Alejandro Valverde Will Race Tour Down Under

Chris — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:31:52 +0000

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…

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