Valverde: "Everybody was racing against me and Movistar"

April 18 ^th 2018 - 17:24

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar): “I was obviously the man to beat today. Everybody was racing against me and against Movistar. But it’s normal. It looked like I was the strongest so they all tried to beat me. I’m happy with this place of second. Alaphilippe is a top rider, he already finished second here and he won brilliantly. He deserves it. The race was lost in the Mur (de Huy). The group with Nibali was very strong so the team had to work hard behind them but the Mur is where the race got away. I was good but Alaphilippe was better, that’s the difference compared to other years. He went from far away and I was a bit behind. I managed to get back but that effort cost me the energy to overcome him. This is not the first time I lose (laughs). If I won every race, others wouldn’t line up. I didn’t win but I still was in the mix so I’m not disappointed. After my crash at the Tour, everything was unknown. How would I recover? How would I feel? Obviously my condition hasn’t worsened. I’ll turn 38 in a few days and I think I’m in the best time of my career.”