Controversial Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde won the Tour of Spain on Sunday, capturing one of cycling’s three major tours for the first time just months after being embroiled in a doping scandal.
The 29-year-old Caisse d’Epargne rider just had to stay in his saddle on Sunday to win the event after starting the day with a lead of 55 seconds over his countryman Samuel Sanchez, who finished the tour in second place.
Third overall was Australia’s two-time Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans, who had been an outside favorite until Valverde took the golden jersey from him at the end of the ninth stage and who then lost a lot of time because of a puncture in the 13th stage.
Germany’s Andre Greipel won Sunday’s 21st and final stage in a sprint finish in Madrid ahead of Italy’s Daniele Bennati at the end of the 110km course from Rivas Vaciamadrid to the Spanish capital.
Valverde finished the stage in 26th place, 10 seconds behind Greipel and with the same time as Sanchez.
Valverde, who had been on the podium in this race twice previously, said his “goal is now achieved.”
“It’s a special feeling, now I know that I can win a big three-week tour, a harder one than the Tour of Spain,” he said. “Everyone had doubts, and I knew that I could achieve it because I had been close.”
The trophy will be some consolation this year for the Spaniard, who is serving a two-year ban for doping in Italy which prevented him from taking part in the Tour de France this year as it briefly passed through the country.
The anti-doping tribunal of the Italian Olympic Committee took the action last May after it said blood samples taken from him during an Italian stage of last year’s Tour de France matched DNA samples from suspect blood bags discovered in the 2006 Operation Puerto doping scandal.
Valverde has contested the allegations.
He said on Saturday that the Vuelta had not been his primary objective at the start of the season, but the decision in Italy changed his plans.
“I had to find another goal, in this case the Vuelta. I had to concentrate and leave all other problems behind,” he said.
The rider, who won the Tour of Catalonia in May, did not win a single stage in this year’s Tour of Spain.
But he remained strong throughout, helped by his team, and was able to respond to attacks by his rivals when needed, especially in the 14th and 19th stages.
“In the end the best man won,” Sanchez said. “It was 21 days and what counted above all was consistency and Valverde is the one who made the least mistakes.”
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
RSS