Cycling: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) has left veteran Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) behind in an uphill finish on the second stage of the Tour of Valencia. As a result, the Slovenian also takes the lead in the overall standings.
Pogacar conquers the uphill king
For over a decade, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was considered the king of uphill sprints. The Spaniard now seems to be slowly but surely losing this monopoly. While he has occasionally struggled against Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) in the past, another competitor , Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), has now come into focus. Eighteen years separate Tadej Pogacar and Alejandro Valverde. The Slovenian prevailed after 181,0 kilometers from Torrent to Cullera. With this victory, he also takes over the lead in the general classification. The remaining places behind him were shared by Dylan Teuns (Bahrain – McLaren), Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), and Jack Haig (Mitchelton – Scott), who finished with the same time.
Valverde will retire at the end of 2021
Even before today's second stage of the Vuelta a Valencia, Alejandro Valverde has spoken about his future. The Spaniard stated that he intends to remain in cycling as a professional rider until the end of 2021. After that, he told the sports newspaper AS, he will move into management at Movistar. Valverde has been riding for the Spanish team since 2005. Before hanging up his bike, he wants to win a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He has already attempted this four times – without success.
Alejandro Valverde:
"I want to complete two more seasons at the highest level and then retire."
Don't remember the last time I saw Valverde losing an uphill sprint like this after getting it handed to him on a silver platter. It's a new world... pic.twitter.com/t70muQwQuM
— Mikkel Condé v2.0 (@mrconde) February 6, 2020