Alejandro Valverde reveals he was close to return to peloton in 2023: "I have seriously considered a comeback"
Cycling
Over 2022 and 2023 many wondered if Alejandro Valverde could make a comeback to pro cycling. On paper he never left, as he keeps competing with the team colours in Gravel, however he reveals that he was close to becoming a road rider again after retiring.
"I'm not going to lie, I have seriously considered a comeback. My passion was cycling and being competitive. I missed blowing off steam and feeling useful," Valverde admits in an interview with El País. "I still felt like a cyclist and when the riders got on the bus after suffering, I always wanted to be there. 2023 has been a bit of a way for me to adapt, to lose more of the competition bug, which was very difficult at first. I didn't feel like going to the races because I felt like a cyclist. I wanted to stop on a high, but the next year pre-season started and then the season, and you still feel good. Then I asked myself if I had stopped too early."
Questions rose as the Spaniard maintained a high level and the same motivation to train. After many years as a pro rider he decided 2022 would be his last on the road, however there were always questions if he'd go through with it as despite the age, he kept performing alongside the best. Ultimately he did resume competition but on a different side of the sport, off-road. He actually went on to finish fourth in the Gravel World Championships, and most likely he will continue to wear the team colours in 2024. Perhaps, in mountain biking as well.
"It would be fun to ride a mountain bike with him (Mathieu van der Poel, ed.). He would play with me, but it would be really cool," he tells. "At 42, it's certainly not too early and as the year progressed I felt calmer, better and without so much desire to participate. Ultimately, I never regretted quitting. I have taken my foot off the accelerator a bit and am not so strict anymore. I still train and I still keep my weight a bit low. Not the weight I was when I competed, of course, but I'm doing well. Ever since I started looking fatter, I tell myself I'm exaggerating."
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Agradecido a todos los que forman el @COE_es por su reconocimiento ayer viernes en la #GalaCOE. Lamento mucho no haber podido acudir. Gracias por la labor que hacéis en apoyo a todo el deporte español.
#Gala2023 | 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗼 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶ó𝗻 🚴 @alejanvalverde | @RFECiclismo Recoge José Luis López Cerrón #ElCorazónDeEspaña❤️ 🇪🇸
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