A few days ago the Spanish cycling coach Pascaul Momparler commented the following about Alejandro Valverde: "I think that Valverde will be one of those who will ride gravel and he will surprise".
Today it was confirmed that the rider from Murcia will be part of the new Movistar Team for gravel racing, the Movistar Gravel Squad. The initial team will also include Iván García Cortina and two riders from the eSports team, Ana Dillana and Hayley Simmonds.
Once gravel was consolidated as a discipline after the UCI World Cup organized by the UCI in Veneto in 2022, the Telefonica team wants to develop in the discipline. Thus, Valverde and the rest of the team will debut next April 23 in La Indomable, in Almeria.
Alejandro Valverde himself confirmed that he will compete in gravel this year through his social networks: "With a new #Gobik uniform and new challenges, this season I will compete in gravel with #MovistarTeamGravelSquad".