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."
