Alejandro Valverde blocked from competing at World Championships amid Movistar relegation worries
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Published 04/09/2022 at 12:45 GMT
Movistar have blocked Alejandro Valverde from travelling to Australia to race at the UCI Road Cycling World Championships later this month in order for the Spaniard to help them avoid relegation from the WorldTour. The dynamic of riders being refused release is adding more intrigue to the battle to stay in pro cycling's top tier. Valverde is currently riding La Vuelta, his final Grand Tour.
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Alejandro Valverde is among several riders who have been blocked from competing at the UCI Road Cycling World Championships due to the battle between teams to avoid WorldTour relegation.
A limit of 18 teams in pro cycling's top tier for the next WorldTour licence session of 2023-2025 has become a major talking point of late with teams tactically choosing where their riders compete in order to pick up points.
With the World Championships taking place in Wollongong, Australia from September 18-25 - the men’s road race will be on the final day - UCI teams don’t want to release their best riders to travel as they will be jet-lagged and need to recover on their return, which has caused problems for the national teams' own selection wishes.
"They pay me to put together the best team, with the riders they deem appropriate, but this time it won't be possible,” Spanish national coach Pascual Momparler told AS.
“We had a meeting on Friday to decide whether we would go to the World Championships or not and we finally decided that we will. Juan Ayuso and Marc Soler will be the leaders and we will try to form a team around them.”
Twenty teams are fighting for 18 spots to remain on the WorldTour, with Valverde’s Movistar in danger of being relegated. Isreal-Premier Tech and Lotto Soudal currently hold the bottom two places and would be relegated as it stands.
Valverde is currently racing at La Vuelta - his final Grand Tour of an illustrious career before retirement - but Movistar are blocking him from travelling to the World Championships, robbing him of a chance to sign off from the event that he won in 2018.
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Alejandro Valverde
Image credit: Getty Images
“It’d be nice if Valverde could take part in the World Championships alongside young riders like Ayuso and Rodriguez so they can learn from him,” said Momparler.
“He would love to come, he has said so but he does not have permission. The team is immersed in the fight for points. It’s the same with Alex Aranburu (also of Movistar).
“Many teams are refusing to release their riders and this could be a catastrophe for many teams, including ours.
“The UCI has put everyone between a rock and a hard place. It’s going to be an unusual World Championships.”
The deadline for national teams to confirm their squads for the World Championships is September 13.
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