Valverde completes back-to-back Route d'Occitanie wins

The Spaniard, competing for Movistar Team, won the Tour de France warm-up last year as well, and finished eight seconds ahead of Ivan Sosa (Team Ineos), with Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First) third.

"All in all, I'm so happy with this result," Valverde said after his victory.

"As I said a couple of days ago, it really shows that the rest and preparations I've had for the past two months after my injury has been just what I needed. Now we move on to the Spanish Championships and, most importantly, the Tour de France.

"My goal, as I've already stated, is supporting Nairo [Quintana] and Mikel [Landa] so the team does the best possible job at the Tour. I won't be the team leader by any means - my goal is to support them 100% and enjoy wearing the rainbow jersey at the Tour.

"Should I have to lose some time in the early stages to favour their chances, I'll be glad to. It'll surely help us opt to some good results later on, be more free to move during the race."