Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish cyclist, who competed as a professional inroad bicycle racing from 2002 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2022, and now competes ingravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad.[6] Since March 2025, he has been the coach of the men's Spanish national team.[7]
During his road racing career, Valverde took 133 professional victories, with some of his biggest wins having been theVuelta a España in2009, theCritérium du Dauphiné in2008 and2009, theTour of the Basque Country in2017, theVolta a Catalunya in2009,2017 and2018,Liège–Bastogne–Liège in2006,2008,2015 and2017,La Flèche Wallonne in2006,2014,2015,2016 and2017, theClásica de San Sebastián in2008 and2014, the2006 and2008 UCI ProTours, the2014 and2015 UCI World Tours, and the road race in the2018 World Championships. Prior to his Worlds win, he already held the record for most medals won at World Championships – he twice collected the silver medal in the World Championships, in2003 and2005, as well as the bronze four times in 2006, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Valverde entered thirty-twoGrand Tours, finished twenty-seven of them and placed in the top ten of the general classification on twenty occasions. He also shares the record for most wins in thePoints classification in the Vuelta a España (four times) withSean Kelly andLaurent Jalabert.
Valverde is rare in combining different specialties inroad bicycle racing, being a strongclimbing specialist,sprinter and a good time-trialist. The online databaseCycling Ranking ranks him asthe 2nd most successful cyclist of all time.
Born inLas Lumbreras,Murcia, Valverde came from a cycling family, his father Juan was an amateur bicycle racer and bought him a bike when he was six years old.[8] His brother Juan Francisco was also an amateur road racing cyclist. Valverde's first race was inJumilla, in his region ofMurcia, and he finished second. On the following week he won his second race inYecla.[9] He allegedly took more than fifty consecutive victories between 11 and 13 years old, earning him the nicknameEl Imbatido (The Unbeaten).[10]
Due to his many wins, Valverde was offered to ride for the elite amateur teamBanesto based inNavarre, some distance away from his home inMurcia. Perhaps due to the exhaustion from having to travel back and forth every weekend, his performance suffered while with the team.[10]
He moved to the development team of theKelme–Costa Blanca professional squad and was coached by Francisco Moya, whom he credited with helping him become a better cyclist. Kelme also promised to allow him to move to the professional squad if he showed good performance. At the end of his first season with the Kelme amateur squad, they offered to move him to the professional squad.[10]
Valverde turned professional in 2002 when he signed a contract with the Spanish teamKelme–Costa Blanca, with whom he stayed until the end of the 2004 season. During his time with Kelme he had a breakthrough year in the2003 Vuelta a España, where he won two stages and finished third in theGeneral classification. That year he also won theVuelta a Mallorca and a stage inTour of the Basque Country and other Spanish races likeGP Primavera andGP Villafranca de Ordizia. He ended the season with a second place in the2003 UCI Road World Championships behindIgor Astarloa after winning the sprint ahead ofPeter Van Petegem andPaolo Bettini.[11]
In the 2004 season he decided to stay with Kelme despite the team's financial woes and offers from other teams. He went on to win theVolta a la Comunitat Valenciana, theVuelta a Murcia, a stage in theTour of the Basque Country, theVuelta a Burgos and taking fourth in theVuelta a España. Although he won a stage in the Vuelta, he was injured in a crash that forced him to downscale his ambitions in the overall classification.[12] He also participated in theSummer Olympics.
Valverde joined theUCI ProTeamIlles Balears–Caisse d'Epargne in 2005.[13] He won the last stage inParis–Nice and finished second overall behindBobby Julich. He also took two stages in theTour of the Basque Country. In his first ever appearance at theTour de France, he won the 10th stage of theTour de France ahead ofLance Armstrong, whom he beat in the sprint intoCourchevel at the end of a mountain stage in the Alps.[14] After Stage 12, he was in 5th place onGC, 3 minutes and 16 seconds behind Armstrong. He was also leading in theyoung rider classification (white jersey), with a 3-minute and 9 second lead on Armstrong's teammateYaroslav Popovych.[15] However, Valverde was forced to withdraw from the Tour during the 13th stage because of a knee injury. Valverde recovered barely in time for theUCI Road World Championships inMadrid, Spain. The injury ofÓscar Freire, who was the Spanish team captain, forced him to become the team leader, despite having had only one day of competition before the Worlds. Amazingly, he was able to be competitive and finished second to winnerTom Boonen.[16]
In 2006, Valverde won a stage in theTour of the Basque Country, finishing 2nd overall and capturing the points competition. He then completed a prestigious double in theSpring classics, winningLa Flèche Wallonne and taking victory four days later atLiège–Bastogne–Liège. Valverde subsequently won a stage in theTour de Romandie finishing 3rd overall. Valverde planned to challenge at the2006 Tour de France, and stated that he hoped to win in the future. He went to thePinarello bicycle factory inTreviso, Italy, to optimize histime-trialing performance. In fact he started among the favourites for the Tour after the withdrawal ofJan Ullrich andIvan Basso due to a doping investigation. However, on the third stage of the race, Valverde crashed, and had to abandon the Tour with a fractured right collarbone. His ambition to win a Grand Tour shifted to theVuelta a España, later that year.
Valverde entered the Vuelta a España as the top favorite. Since he did not ride a full Tour de France he was in better condition than some of the other candidates for the victory: defending championDenis Menchov andCarlos Sastre both ended in the top 10 of the Tour de France and were expected to be somewhat fatigued. Valverde won the 7th stage and dominated mountain stages, earning him the gold leader jersey after stage 9. Valverde lost the jersey, however, due to the aggressive climbing and attacking ofAlexander Vinokourov. In the last time trial, Valverde again lost time on Vinokourov and had to settle for the 2nd place in the overall standings, his second podium finish in a Grand Tour. Following his impressive performance in the Vuelta, Valverde won yet another major title, winning theUCI ProTour with several major races still left on the calendar as his point lead had reached unassailable levels. At theUCI Road World Championships, Valverde was considered one of the favorites for the title. Although he did not win, he was able to finish 3rd and claim a bronze medal.
He started 2007 by winning the overall classification atVolta a la Comunitat Valenciana andVuelta a Murcia. In stage 4 of the Vuelta a Murcia, Valverde accomplished his first win in an individual time trial.[17] He also finished third in theCritérium International and fifth in theTour of the Basque Country. In the Ardennes classics he took second place in bothLa Flèche Wallonne andLiège–Bastogne–Liège, unable to repeat the double victory of 2006 season. In theTour de France, Valverde was seen as one of the favorites for theyellow jersey until he had a disastrous individual time trial that diminished his chances of fighting for the overall classification. He subsequently finished sixth overall, eleven minutes behind, and thus finished his firstTour de France after being unable to complete the race in 2005 and 2006. He decided not to race theVuelta a España in order to prepare for theUCI Road World Championships.[18]
On 29 August 2007, theUCI announced that they prevented Valverde from riding the World Championships inStuttgart because of his possible implication in theOperación Puerto doping case tosafeguard the atmosphere and reputation of the World Championships.[19] The UCI also called upon the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) to open disciplinary proceedings against the rider, but RFEC refused to comply with the UCI's request, saying there was no new evidence against him. RFEC also included Valverde in its squad for the World Championships, where he ended up 2nd.[20] The matter was taken to theCourt of Arbitration for Sport, which authorised Valverde to participate in the World Championships.[21]
In 2008, Valverde showed strong form in the spring. After winning theVuelta a Murcia, Valverde was focused on training. He announced his readiness with a podium finish in theKlasika Primavera and a triumph at theParis–Camembert. These successes foreshadowed excellent results in theArdennes classics: a podium at theAmstel Gold Race and victory inLiège–Bastogne–Liège. Valverde also won theCritérium du Dauphiné Libéré and theSpanish National Road Race Championships in June. On 5 July, Valverde won the first stage of theTour de France. His form faltered in the Pyrenees, and after being dropped on theCol du Tourmalet, eventually losing 5' 52" to stage winnerLeonardo Piepoli, scrapping hopes of a podium finish. He performed better in the Alps and claimed a top ten finish. On Alpe d'Huez it appeared that he was working alongsideCSC–Saxo Bank to try to eliminateCadel Evans.
He followed the Tour with a strong victory in theClásica de San Sebastián, leading out the sprint and holding offAlexandr Kolobnev andDavide Rebellin. Later, at theVuelta a España, he started strong, winning the second stage and wearing the general classification leader's jersey on the third one. He was among the leaders in the first week. However, he lost around two minutes on a very wet stage to Saunces and any chance of a podium finish. However, he ended up in fourth position overall at the end with some strong performances including an impressive ride up the Angliru, where he was only bettered byAlberto Contador and then a good performance in the mountain time-trial. Before the participation at theUCI Road World Championships atVarese, he was mathematically proclaimed theUCI ProTour winner, being his second win in the four editions of the competition.
Valverde started 2009 in good form by taking the points and mountains classifications in theVuelta a Castilla y León while finishing 9th overall with two stage victories. He could not repeat his successes of the last few years in the spring classics with his best result being a 7th atLa Flèche Wallonne. He won theKlasika Primavera and theVolta a Catalunya to put those disappointments behind him. With the threat of not racing theTour de France hanging over his head he entered theCritérium du Dauphiné Libéré hoping to prove his worth. He performed consistently throughout the two early time-trials to stay in touch with the leaders before finishing second onMont Ventoux to take the lead in the overall classification. ThoughCadel Evans repeatedly attacked him in the final days he stayed on his wheel, with the help of compatriotAlberto Contador, to take the yellow jersey. On the back of these successes he appealed his ban by the Italian authorities with theCourt of Arbitration for Sport in the hope of racing the tour.
On 20 September 2009, Valverde clinched the overall victory in theVuelta a España.[22] Despite having no stage victories, Valverde's consistency in the mountains allowed him to keep the leader's jersey all the way to end, after capturing it on stage 9.
All his 2010 results were annulled because of the suspension.
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Valverde made his return to the peloton during theTour Down Under, the first race of theUCI World Tour season.[23] He won the race's fifth stage – the queen stage of the event – by out-sprintingGreenEDGE'sSimon Gerrans in a two-man sprint inWillunga,[24] and finished second overall.[25] He earned his first overall victory since his return, by winning February'sVuelta a Andalucía,[26] as well as achieving a stage victory during the race. Valverde also finished third inParis–Nice, and by winning stage 3 showed good form for the upcomingTour de France. In the Tour de France he sat casually in the peloton until initiating a breakaway in stage 17, which he held onto after breaking away from the other 16 riders in the breakaway.Team Sky almost chased him down, ending only 19 seconds adrift; it was Valverde's fourth Tour de France stage victory.
Valverde entered theVuelta a España as a lieutenant to the defending championJuan José Cobo in theMovistar Team.[27] However, Valverde would soon become the leader when it became apparent that Cobo was not in top form.[28] His Movistar Team started off with a victory in the first stage, a team time trial.[29] Valverde would take the lead of the general, points and combination classifications after winningStage 3, in which he chased down repeated attacks fromAlberto Contador and outsprintedJoaquim Rodríguez at the finishing line.[30] He would subsequently lose the lead to Rodríguez, but won theeighth stage atop theCollada de la Gallina inAndorra. Contador broke away from the small lead group and looked like he was heading for the win, but Rodríguez and Valverde passed him with less than 100 m (330 ft) to go, with Valverde taking the win.[31] Valverde ultimately finished the Vuelta in second position overall after being a constant threat for the leader, which was Rodríguez untilstage 17 where Contador soloed to victory and grabbed the lead,[32] which he would not relinquish. Valverde won both the points and combination classification jerseys on the final day from Rodríguez as a result of a sixth-place finish onthe last stage inMadrid.[33]
Valverde had to settle for a bronze medal in theWorld Championships inValkenburg, as he was unable to reachPhilippe Gilbert who attacked on the final climb of theCauberg. He was the first of a group of 27 riders who had a five seconds deficit on the Belgian when crossing the line.[34] He was supposed to participate in theGiro di Lombardia, but announced on the morning of the race that he was suffering frominfluenza and was putting an end to his 2012 season.[35]
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As in 2012, Valverde won the overall classification of theVuelta a Andalucía in 2013, where he also won the points classification in the race.[36] Valverde continued showing some good form after finishing with podium places in theVuelta a Murcia, theAmstel Gold Race and inLiège–Bastogne–Liège. After having a decent spring campaign, Valverde aimed for a podium finish in theTour de France.[37] Valverde started the Tour in good form after finishing third in Ax3 Domaines behindChris Froome andRichie Porte. However, the next day, Porte lost over 15 minutes which moved Valverde into second overall right before the tour left the Pyrenees. On Stage 13, Valverde lost almost 10 minutes after getting a flat tyre. Despite a very hard pursuit, the high crosswinds and the pace of the peloton prevented him and his teammates from catching back. They ended up with the second group at the finish causing him to slip out of the top ten.[38] Despite losing his second position, Valverde managed to do well in the Alps which moved him back into the top ten of the overall standings, finishing 8th overall.[39]
At theVuelta a España, after stage 10, Valverde sat fourth overall a minute behind race leaderChris Horner. However, on stage 11, he moved back up into 3rd after finishing 8th in the time trial. On stage 14, on a rainy descent, Valverde was dropped by the G.C. contenders entering the final climb a minute back. He managed to limit his losses on the final climb staying within a minute of his rivals, though losing close to a minute on Nibali, Horner, andJoaquim Rodríguez. On stage 16, he managed to cut back a handful of seconds on Nibali and Horner. He entered the penultimate stage 20 a minute behind the race leader. He came third of the stage which finished atop the steepAlto de l'Angliru, securing a podium finish in the general classification, one minute and 36 seconds behind race winner Horner.[40] At theWorld Championships, he took the third place, but was criticized for failing to cover the late attack of PortugueseRui Costa.[41] Costa eventually reached and out sprinted Rodríguez, Valverde's Spanish teammate.
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In theTour de France, Valverde ended in fourth place in the general classification. On 2 August 2014 Valverde won theClásica de San Sebastián for the second time in his career. He won the first uphill finish of theVuelta a España by powering away from the leaders after leading the group for most of the final climb.[42] He finished the Spanish Grand Tour on the third step of the podium behindChris Froome and the overall winnerAlberto Contador.[43] After the Vuelta, it was announced that Valverde had signed a three-year contract with hisMovistar Team, meaning that he would ride for them until at least 2017.[44] At theWorld Road Race Championships inPonferrada, Valverde stood on the third step on the podium for the third year in a row.[45] He came in second at theGiro di Lombardia, passing Contador for first place in theUCI World Tour rankings.[46]
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Valverde grabbed three stage victories in theVolta a Catalunya. On stage 2, he got the better of a bunch sprint and helped score a 1–2 for theMovistar Team with his teammateJosé Joaquín Rojas.[47] On stage 5, he launched a late attack as he was part of a small group containing all the leaders coming intoValls and won solo.[48] On the last stage, he won the sprint of a group of about 40 riders and with the bonus seconds, snatched the second place of the overall classification fromDomenico Pozzovivo.[49] At theAmstel Gold Race he came in second, being bested in a small group sprint byMichał Kwiatkowski.[50] The following Wednesday, Valverde equalled the record number of victories onLa Flèche Wallonne with 3, distancingJulian Alaphilippe andMichael Albasini in the final meters of theMur de Huy.[51]
He went one better the following Sunday, winning the sprint of a small group of riders to impose himself onLiège–Bastogne–Liège. It was the third time in his career Valverde had wonLa Doyenne.[52] It was also the second time that he had won Liège–Bastogne–Liège and La Flèche Wallonne in the same year, becoming only the second rider to have achieved this double twice, afterFerdinand Kübler.[53] In June, he won theSpanish National Road Race Championships.[54] At theTour de France, Valverde finished on the podium in 3rd place, his first podium finish at the Tour; achieving a lifelong dream of a top 3 finish. With that finish he had one career goal left, a World Championship victory.[55][56]
Valverde's main goals for the 2016 season were theArdennes classics, theGiro d'Italia and theRoad Race at the Olympic Games in Rio. He started his season by taking the overall at theVuelta a Andalucía in February. He out-powered the rest of the contenders, includingTejay van Garderen andRafał Majka, on the climb up to the finish on the final stage. Valverde changed his initial plan of riding theTour of Flanders and went to Tenerife to prepare for the Giro. He returned to competition by winning two stages and the overall at theVuelta a Castilla y León which he chose to race instead of theAmstel Gold Race, a race still lacking from his palmáres. The following Wednesday he took his third consecutiveLa Flèche Wallonne victory and became the most prolific winner of the "smaller" Ardennes Classic with his fourth win. He showed his climbing prowess by controlling up until the last 150 metres (490 feet) when he accelerated away from his rivals to take the victory. The Sunday following, he went out to repeat his Ardennes double from 2015 by securing anotherLiège–Bastogne–Liège win but he fell short and only managed to finish 16th.
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Valverde was named in the start list for the Giro d'Italia, his first participation in the Italian race.[57] Valverde rode a consistent race but struggled in the high mountains especially on the queen stage in theDolomites where he lost more than three minutes. He fought back the very next day with a third place in the mountain time trial and managed to win his first Giro d'Italia stage the day after the rest day inAndalo, his 14th stage win over the three Grand Tours. He secured his spot on the podium by outclimbingSteven Kruijswijk on the very last mountain stage and finished third overall, becoming only the 16th cyclist to finish on the podium in each of the three Grand Tours.
Later that year, Valverde finished sixth in theTour de France, earning his ninth consecutive top 10 finish in his last nine grand tour starts. A week later he was third at the2016 Clásica de San Sebastián. At theVuelta a España he finished 12th in the general classification and third in the points classification. Upon completing the Vuelta he became just the 33rd rider in cycling history to complete all three grand tours in the same season. Valverde finished fourth in the World Tour season standings.
In February 2017 Valverde took his first win of the season at theVuelta a Murcia, a race that he had previously won four times. He followed this up with a win in theVuelta a Andalucía for the fifth time in six years, defeating runner-upAlberto Contador by a single second and winning stage one in the process.[2] The overall win was the 100th victory in Valverde's career. After not startingParis–Nice due to illness, Valverde went on to dominate theVolta a Catalunya by winning stages three, five, and seven and beating runner-up Contador by over a minute.[58] This was done in spite of him and his team being given a one-minute penalty for "pushes" in the opening team time trial. At theTour of the Basque Country, Valverde won stage five and went into the final day's individual time trial as the race leader, albeit on the same time asCannondale–Drapac'sRigoberto Urán andMichael Woods,AG2R La Mondiale'sRomain Bardet, andUAE Team Emirates'Louis Meintjes, along with having just a three-second advantage over Contador. In the time trial, Valverde finished second on the day toPrimož Roglič ofLottoNL–Jumbo by just nine seconds, and he beat Contador by fourteen seconds, extending his overall lead,[59] and giving Valverde his third stage race victory of the season.
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He punctuated his dominance inLa Flèche Wallonne by winning the race for the fourth consecutive year and the fifth time overall.[60] A few days later inLiège–Bastogne–Liège, Valverde fended off a late attack from Dan Martin and managed to outsprint him at the line and take his fourth win in the event.[61] After taking time off from racing to train at a 25-day altitude camp atSierra Nevada, Valverde raced in theCritérium du Dauphiné, where in the stage four time trial he clocked the third best time, losing out only to world time trial championTony Martin (Team Katusha–Alpecin) andBMC Racing Team'sRichie Porte by twelve and twenty-four seconds respectively.[62] He managed to put time into the rest of his general classification rivals, including Contador, Bardet, and most notably, defending championChris Froome (Team Sky). Over the subsequent mountain stages, Valverde was consistently aggressive; however, it failed to pay off and by the end of the Dauphiné he was 4 minutes 8 seconds down onAstana'sJakob Fuglsang, in ninth place overall.[63] Going into theTour de France, Valverde stated that he would work for his teammateNairo Quintana; however, he was still considered an outside bet for the final podium by many pundits. On the opening individual time trial stage, Valverde crashed on a tight corner and was forced to abandon the Tour immediately;[64] his first Grand Tour withdrawal since 2006. He suffered a fractured kneecap, ruling him out for several months.[65] Ultimately, Valverde opted to end his 2017 season because of his knee injury with the hope of making his comeback at the start of the 2018 season.
Valverde returned to racing at theChallenge Mallorca in late January 2018.[66] At theVolta a la Comunitat Valenciana, he took his first victory after his comeback, winning stage two and taking the overall lead in the process.[67] The following weekend, he finished second to compatriotLuis León Sánchez in theVuelta a Murcia.[68] Later in February, Valverde claimed overall victory at theAbu Dhabi Tour, winning the stage toJebel Hafeet.[69] Valverde finished 17 seconds clear of Dutch riderWilco Kelderman fromTeam Sunweb.
In March, Valverde rode theStrade Bianche classic, held partially on gravel roads in torrential rain. He finished fourth, 1 minute and 25 seconds behind winnerTiesj Benoot ofLotto–Soudal.[70] Later that month, Valverde won theVolta a Catalunya for the third time in his career.[71] Valverde won the second and fourth stages during the race, taking the race lead – and the mountains jersey as well – for good after his second stage victory. He finished 29 seconds clear of his nearest rival, teammateNairo Quintana, after Quintana's Colombian compatriotEgan Bernal (Team Sky) crashed out of the race on the final day. His next race, the cobbled classicDwars door Vlaanderen, resulted in an 11th place showing after being in the mix for the victory until the successful breakaway of eventual winnerYves Lampaert in the closing kilometers. After taking victory in theGP Miguel Induráin followed by a second place in theKlasika Primavera, he began his Ardennes campaign with 5th place at theAmstel Gold Race. On the following Wednesday he was beaten by FrenchmanJulian Alaphilippe atLa Flèche Wallonne, a race he had won the four previous years. Furthermore, he was unable to winLiège–Bastogne–Liège and finished 13th making it the first time since 2013 that he did not win an Ardennes Classic race.
After a lengthy break he won theRoute d'Occitanie stage race in June where he prepared for theTour de France. He made several long attacks in service of his teammates Quintana andMikel Landa but all the threeMovistar Team leaders failed to threaten the podium. Valverde returned for theVuelta a España where was supposed to work for Quintana. He won stage 2 in an uphill sprint and stage 8 in a reduced bunch sprint, beating then World ChampionPeter Sagan in the latter. He maintained a high position in the general classification until the last weekend and still had a chance of overall victory. He struggled in the last two stages in Andorra and only managed to finish 5th, but won the points classification for a record-equalling fourth time.
Valverde won the gold medal at theUCI Road World Championships inInnsbruck, in his twelfth participation. He triumphed in a small group sprint at the finish line ahead ofRomain Bardet,Michael Woods andTom Dumoulin, becoming the second oldest Road World Champion in history afterJoop Zoetemelk. An emotional Valverde called this his biggest ever victory and one he has chased for 15 years.[72]
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Valverde took his first major result of 2019 when he finished second overall toIon Izagirre in theVolta a la Comunitat Valenciana.[73] He then finished second again, this time toLuis León Sánchez, at theVuelta a Murcia.[74] At the2019 UAE Tour, Valverde took his first victory as World Champion by winning the sprint at the summit finish of stage 3.[75][76] He would go on to finish the race in second place overall.[77]
During the spring classics, Valverde rode theTour of Flanders, his first participation in the monument. He finished the race in eighth place.[78] Valverde endured a difficult end to his spring campaign. At theFlèche Wallonne, he swallowed a bee during the race and eventually finished 11th. A crash in the leadup toLiège–Bastogne–Liège resulted in a boneedema. Valverde started the race, not knowing of the severity of his injury, and then abandoned during the event, the first time he had not finished. After recovering from his injuries, he returned to racing at theRoute d'Occitanie,[79] which he won.[80] On 30 June, he won theSpanish National Road Race Championships for the third time in his career.[81] At theTour de France, he finished ninth overall.[82]
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At theVuelta a España, Valverde took victory at stage 7 of the race, a summit finish at Mas de la Costa.[83] He would eventually finish the Vuelta in second place overall, 2 minutes, 16 seconds behindPrimož Roglič.[84] At theWorld Championship road race inYorkshire, run in very rainy conditions, Valverde abandoned his title defence with about 60 km (37 mi) to go.[85] Towards the end of the season, he finished second toBauke Mollema atIl Lombardia.[86]
Valverde contested six races prior to theCOVID-19 pandemic-enforced suspension of racing, recording a best finish of second place toEmanuel Buchmann at the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana,[87] a one-day race held as part of theVuelta a Mallorca. Following racing re-commencing, Valverde contested both theTour de France and theVuelta a España, finishing the races in twelfth and tenth positions respectively. He finished in the second chase group in theroad race at theUCI Road World Championships in Italy, with an eighth-place finish.[88]
Having finished fourth in March'sVolta a Catalunya, Valverde took his first victory in more than eighteen months with his record-equalling third victory in theGP Miguel Induráin,[89] soloing clear with approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) remaining. He recorded top-five finishes in each of the threeArdennes classics, making the podium with a third-place finish atLa Flèche Wallonne.[90] At June'sCritérium du Dauphiné, Valverde won the sixth stage in a sprint of a small group inLe Sappey-en-Chartreuse, his first stage win at the race in thirteen years.[91] He then competed in theTour de France, finishing twenty-fourth, with his best stage result being a second-place finish toSepp Kuss on stage fifteen, which finished inAndorra.[92] He also participated in themen's individual road race in theCOVID-19 pandemic-delayedTokyo Olympics, his fifth participation at theSummer Olympic Games.[93] He failed to finish theVuelta a España after a crash on the seventh stage,[94] the first time he had abandoned the race since his first start in2002.[95] His next start came at theGiro di Sicilia, where he won a stage and finished second overall toVincenzo Nibali, losing the race lead following Nibali's final stage victory.[96][97]
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In October 2021, Valverde announced that the 2022 season would be his final season as a professional rider.[98] At theVuelta a Mallorca, Valverde finished second toTim Wellens in the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana,[99] before winning the Trofeo Pollença – Port d'Andratx in a sprint à deux againstBrandon McNulty.[100] The following month, he won a stage, the general classification and the points classification at theinaugural running of O Gran Camiño.[101][102] He was the closest competitor toTadej Pogačar inStrade Bianche, with Pogačar winning from a 50-kilometre (31-mile) solo attack.[103] He finished second toDylan Teuns atLa Flèche Wallonne in April,[104] before riding theGiro d'Italia for the first time since2016, finishing eleventh overall.[105] Having finished thirteenth at his sixteenth and finalVuelta a España, Valverde concluded his road racing career with an Italian block of racing – he recorded finishes of second in theCoppa Ugo Agostoni,[106] fourth in theGiro dell'Emilia (assisting teammateEnric Mas to victory),[107] third inTre Valli Varesine,[108] and sixth inIl Lombardia.[109]
In April 2023, it was announced that Valverde was coming out of retirement to compete ingravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad.[6] He won two events on the UCI Gravel World Series, winning La Indomable inAlmería, and the Ranxo Gravel inPonts, Lleida.[110][111]Valverde finished on the 4th place at the 2023 World Gravel Championships.
Since March of 2025, Valverde has been the coach of the men's Spanish national team. He has taken a hand's on approach to training and has been riding with the athletes during training runs.[7]
Alejandro Valverde has been linked by documentary and DNA evidence to theOperación Puerto, ablood doping affair which erupted in May 2006 against doctorEufemiano Fuentes and a number of accomplices. It uncovered doping products, bags of blood and human plasma, and code names that appeared to link top athletes, including up to 60 cyclists, to a highly organized system of doping, which relied heavily onblood transfusions.[112]
Valverde was not initially linked in the investigation, but documents from Madrid's Court 31 linked Valverde to a single bag of human plasma of the 211 total bags of blood and plasma seized in the investigation. The bag of human plasma was labelled with the codesValv,Piti and18.[113][114] In 2007 Valverde was banned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) from competing in theUCI Road World Championships inStuttgart but Valverde was cleared by theCourt of Arbitration for Sport to compete at the championships.Dick Pound, World Anti-Doping Agency president, said the CAS decision did not mean that Valverde was no longer a suspect.[115]
In early 2009 theItalian National Olympic Committee matched DNA samples taken from Valverde during a rest day in Italy of the 2008 Tour de France to plasma seized in the Operación Puerto investigation.[116] At a February 2009 appearance in front of the Olympic Committee, Valverde maintained his innocence and questioned the Italians' jurisdiction over this case. In May 2009, the Italian Olympic Committee suspended him from competition in Italy for 2 years, effectively barring him from the2009 Tour de France, which detoured briefly onto Italian soil.[117] Valverde filed an unsuccessful appeal against the Italian ban with theCourt of Arbitration for Sport; in a second hearing on 18–21 March 2010, the UCI and WADA contested the Spanish Cycling Federation's decision not to open a case against Valverde.[118]
Finally, on 31 May 2010 it was announced the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the appeals from WADA and the UCI and Valverde was banned for two years, starting 1 January 2010, but rejected the request that any results obtained by the athlete prior to the beginning of the suspension be annulled.[119][120] After serving the two-year suspension Alejandro Valverde returned to competition in 2012 riding for theMovistar Team.[121]
After a lengthy court battle, he was suspended for two years as part of theOperación Puertoblood doping investigation, but he returned to competition in 2012 upon completion of the ban. All his results from 2010 were stripped, including the overall win in the2010 Tour de Romandie, and he did not compete in 2011.
Valverde's abrupt exit from the Vuelta a España is his first abandon since his first ever participation, way back in 2002.
| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Spanish Road Race Champion 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Spanish Road Race Champion 2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | La Flèche Wallonne 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | La Flèche Wallonne 2014,2015,2016,2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Liège–Bastogne–Liège 2017 | Succeeded by |
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| 2020–2039 |
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