Alejandro Valverde facts for kids
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Valverde at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships
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| Personal information | |||
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| Full name | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte | ||
| Nickname | Balaverde (The Green Bullet) El Bala (The Bullet) El Imbatido (The Unbeaten) |
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| Born | 25 April 1980 Las Lumbreras, Murcia, Spain |
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| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Weight | 61 kg (134 lb; 9 st 8 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Movistar Team Gravel Squad | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | All-rounder | ||
| Major wins | |||
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Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born April 25, 1980) is a famous Spanish cyclist. He was a professional road cyclist from 2002 to 2022. Now, he competes in gravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad.
Valverde won 133 professional races during his road cycling career. Some of his biggest victories include the Vuelta a España in 2009. He also won the Critérium du Dauphiné twice and the Volta a Catalunya three times. He is known for winning the Liège–Bastogne–Liège and La Flèche Wallonne races multiple times. In 2018, he became the World Champion in road racing.
He is very good at different types of road cycling. He is a strong climber, a fast sprinter, and good at time trials. This makes him a very versatile rider. The website Cycling Ranking lists him as one of the most successful cyclists ever.
Contents
Discovering Alejandro Valverde
Alejandro Valverde was born in Las Lumbreras, Murcia, Spain. His family loved cycling. His father, Juan, was an amateur cyclist and gave Alejandro a bike when he was six. His brother, Juan Francisco, also rode bikes as an amateur.
Early Life and First Races
Alejandro's first race was in Jumilla, where he finished second. The very next week, he won his second race in Yecla. It is said that he won more than 50 races in a row between the ages of 11 and 13. This amazing streak earned him the nickname El Imbatido, which means "The Unbeaten".
Becoming a Professional Cyclist
Because of his many wins, Valverde was invited to join the elite amateur team Banesto. This team was based far from his home. Later, he joined the development team for the professional squad Kelme–Costa Blanca. His coach, Francisco Moya, helped him improve a lot. After just one season, he was invited to join the professional team.
Racing for Kelme (2002–2004)
Valverde became a professional cyclist in 2002 with the Spanish team Kelme–Costa Blanca. He stayed with them until 2004. In 2003, he had a breakthrough year at the 2003 Vuelta a España. He won two stages and finished third overall. He also won other races like the Vuelta a Mallorca. At the 2003 UCI Road World Championships, he finished second.
In 2004, he chose to stay with Kelme despite their money problems. He won the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and the Vuelta a Murcia. He also finished fourth in the 2004 Vuelta a España. He had to leave the Summer Olympics due to a crash.
Joining Caisse d'Epargne/Movistar (2005–2022)
In 2005, Valverde joined the Illes Balears–Caisse d'Epargne team. He won a stage in Paris–Nice and finished second overall. In his first Tour de France in 2005, he won a mountain stage. However, he had to leave the race early due to a knee injury. He recovered just in time to finish second at the 2005 UCI Road World Championships.
In 2006, Valverde won two big "Spring Classics" races: La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. He aimed to win the 2006 Tour de France, but crashed and broke his collarbone. Later that year, he finished second in the 2006 Vuelta a España. He also won the 2006 UCI ProTour series. At the 2006 UCI Road World Championships, he won a bronze medal.
In 2007, he won the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Vuelta a Murcia. He finished second in La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. He completed his first Tour de France, finishing sixth overall.
In 2008, Valverde won the Vuelta a Murcia and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. He also won the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and the Spanish National Road Race Championships. He won the first stage of the Tour de France. He finished fourth overall in the 2008 Vuelta a España. He was also named the 2008 UCI ProTour winner for the second time.
In 2009, Valverde won the Volta a Catalunya and the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. On September 20, 2009, he won the overall victory in the Vuelta a España. He wore the leader's jersey from stage 9 until the end.
Returning to Racing (2012–2022)
Valverde returned to racing in 2012. He won the Vuelta a Andalucía and a stage in Paris–Nice. He won his fourth Tour de France stage in 2012. In the Vuelta a España, his team won the first stage. He finished second overall and won the points and combination classifications. He also earned a bronze medal at the World Championships.
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In 2013, Valverde won the Vuelta a Andalucía again. He finished third in the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. He finished eighth overall in the Tour de France. At the Vuelta a España, he finished third overall. He also took third place at the World Championships.
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In 2014, Valverde finished fourth in the Tour de France. He won the Clásica de San Sebastián for the second time. He finished third overall in the Vuelta a España. He earned another bronze medal at the World Road Race Championships. He also became the top-ranked rider in the 2014 UCI World Tour.
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In 2015, Valverde won three stages in the Volta a Catalunya. He won La Flèche Wallonne for the third time and Liège–Bastogne–Liège for the third time. He won the Spanish National Road Race Championships. At the Tour de France, he achieved a lifelong dream by finishing third overall.
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In 2016, Valverde won the Vuelta a Andalucía. He won La Flèche Wallonne for the fourth time, becoming its most frequent winner. He rode his first Giro d'Italia and won a stage, finishing third overall. This made him one of the few cyclists to finish on the podium in all three Grand Tours. He finished sixth in the Tour de France. He also completed all three Grand Tours in one season.
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In 2017, Valverde won the Vuelta a Murcia and the Vuelta a Andalucía for the fifth time. This was his 100th career victory! He also won the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour of the Basque Country. He won La Flèche Wallonne for the fifth time and Liège–Bastogne–Liège for the fourth time. Unfortunately, he crashed in the first stage of the Tour de France and had to stop racing for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
Valverde came back strong in 2018. He won the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and the Abu Dhabi Tour. He won the Volta a Catalunya for the third time. He also won the GP Miguel Induráin. In the Vuelta a España, he won two stages and finished fifth overall. He won the points classification for a record-equalling fourth time. Most importantly, he won the gold medal at the UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck. This was a huge victory he had chased for 15 years!
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In 2019, Valverde finished second in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Vuelta a Murcia. He won a stage in the 2019 UAE Tour and finished second overall. He rode the Tour of Flanders for the first time, finishing eighth. He won the Route d'Occitanie and the Spanish National Road Race Championships for the third time. He finished ninth overall in the Tour de France.
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At the Vuelta a España, Valverde won stage 7 and finished second overall. He had a difficult World Championship road race due to rainy conditions.
In 2020, Valverde finished second in a race at the Vuelta a Mallorca. He competed in the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, finishing twelfth and tenth respectively. He also finished eighth at the UCI Road World Championships.
In 2021, Valverde won the GP Miguel Induráin for the third time. He finished on the podium in three major "Ardennes classics" races. He won a stage in the Critérium du Dauphiné. He rode in the Tour de France and his fifth Olympics. He had to leave the Vuelta a España after a crash.
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In October 2021, Valverde announced that 2022 would be his last year as a professional road cyclist. In 2022, he won the Trofeo Pollença – Port d'Andratx. He also won a stage and the overall title at the new O Gran Camiño race. He finished second in Strade Bianche and La Flèche Wallonne. He rode the Giro d'Italia and his sixteenth and final Vuelta a España. He ended his road racing career with strong finishes in Italian races.
Gravel Racing
In April 2023, Alejandro Valverde announced he would start racing again, but this time in gravel cycling. He joined the Movistar Team Gravel Squad. He won two events in the UCI Gravel World Series. He also finished fourth at the 2023 World Gravel Championships.
Important Information
In 2009, the Italian Olympic Committee found a link between Valverde and some samples from a past investigation. This led to him being suspended from racing in Italy for two years. He appealed this decision, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed his suspension. He was banned for two years, starting January 1, 2010. All his results from 2010 were removed. He did not race in 2011. After his suspension ended, he returned to competition in 2012.
Career Achievements
- Vélo d'Or: 2018 (This award is given to the best cyclist of the year)
Images for kids
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Valverde at the 2005 Tour de France
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Valverde at the 2006 Tour de France
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Valverde at the 2008 Vuelta a España, wearing the blue jersey of points classification leader.
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Valverde at the 2012 Tour de France; he won the seventeenth stage of the race.
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See Also
In Spanish: Alejandro Valverde para niños
