One of the form riders of the season so far, Alejandro Valverde was unable to make it count at the Amstel Gold Race when he was pipped to a podium spot. However, the Spaniard – winner of La Fleche in 2006 – is clearly still among the riders in good shape and is more than capable of competing on the uphill finish. His aggressive tactics at the Tour of the Basque Country are evidence he is quite prepared to slog it out with the WorldTour’s best on the Huy.
Furthermore, he once again can rely on a fiercely strong backing team – Tour of Beijing winner Benat Intxausti and domestiques Jesus Herrada and the Izaguirre brothers – Gorka and Jon – all included for the Spanish team. Valverde has already won three one-day races this season – Roma Maxima, GP Miguel Indurain and the Veulta Ciclista a Murcia – and is more than capable of adding a WorldTour race to his season’s palmares.
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