Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team): “This second place is worth as much as a victory”

April 20 ^th 2022 - 17:10

I can only feel happy about my performance today. I’ve been so close to victory. I was pushing so hard that I felt more pain in my arms than in my legs! [Dylan] Teuns has been stronger than me – period. Congratulations to him. I want to thank my team for the excellent work they’ve done for me the whole day. They’ve given me an excellent travel to the Mur de Huy. Then Enric Mas set a very strong pace on the final climb that enabled me to be in perfect position for the final accelerations. It must have been the fastest-ever climb to the Mur de Huy – definitely one of the fastest. Some days you end up the race feeling you could have done more, but it’s not the case today. This second place is worth as much as a victory, as I’m turning 42 in five days and this was my last Flèche Wallonne. Having performed at this level, with lots of sufferance but finishing on a good note, gives me hopes of a nice Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday.