Just three weeks before he turns 41, Alejandro Valverde returned to the winner’s podium on Saturday when he won the GP Miguel Indurain which started and finished in the Navarran town of Estella.
It was the veteran Spanish cyclist’s first victory in a year and a half and the first for Movistar in 2021. It also showed that he is in good shape to tackle the classics once again.
“This victory is for everyone who has supported me. I’m super happy,” Valverde said. “Thanks to team. It was a complicated one but we tried to control the race from the start and we were able to come away with the win.”
11 kilometres from the finish, Valverde caught up with Luis Leon Sanchez who had been out on his own in the lead, and they were joined by Alexey Lutsenko.
The Movistar leader attacked on the last climb to the top of Eraul to take the victory.
