Alejandro Valverde explains how he keeps himself in shape: "I train more than 100 kilometres every day"

Alejandro Valverde, the acclaimed Spanish cyclist, decided to hang up his bike and end his career at the conclusion of the 2022 season, but his retirement did not mean the end of his competitive passion.

In his first year out of professional competition, Valverde racked up an impressive 32,000 kilometers of training and came within a whisker of an elite podium finish at the World Gravel Championships. Now he has made his debut in mountain biking. "I continue to train as I did when I was a professional cyclist, going out every day and riding more than 100 kilometers, maintaining similar power numbers and enjoying cycling to the fullest," says the cycling genius from Murcia.

However, since his retirement, Valverde decided to shed his "obsession" with road cycling and venture into other disciplines. In 2023, he focused on gravel, showing spectacular performance, and in 2024 he decided to explore mountain biking.

He had planned to take part in the Cape Epic, the challenging MTB adventure in South Africa that attracts numerous cycling stars. However, a crash in January led him to change his plans, as he had to undergo collarbone surgery. With the Cape Epic scheduled for March, Valverde opted to look for an alternative and signed up for the Vuelta a Ibiza MTB, his first foray into a mountain bike stage race. "In three hours, you can't rest for a moment, neither on the climbs nor on the descents," Valverde comments on the intensity of mountain racing.

Valverde has experienced firsthand the toughness of competing in three stages of 68, 75 and 55 kilometers on technical terrain, and has shined despite the challenges. He admits that he is not yet challenging his limits in this discipline, he simply enjoys it as a pleasure and has not intensified his training and technical work, a crucial aspect in mountain biking.

For the Murcian cyclist, mountain biking is much more stressful than road cycling, as it requires constant concentration during the three-hour race.

Although Valverde is not yet as hooked on MTB as he is on gravel, he recognizes that he enjoys it. He stresses the radical difference between mountain biking and road cycling: "In MTB, you can't rest at all. Whether it's going up or down, you're at your best for three hours. You enjoy it all the same, but you barely have time to contemplate the scenery, something you can do on the road."