Dismissed Spanish national coach invites Alejandro Valverde to take over his role and offers his services to Movistar: "You have my phone number"

National coach of Spain Pascual Momparler was removed from his function at the end of 2024. The 42-year-old joined the Spanish National team in 2013, starting with the juniors. He gradually moved up the ranks and spent the past six years as elite men's coach.

After some disappointing results, Momparler was dismissed from his position by José Vicioso, new president of the RFEC: "Now it's time to step aside and let someone else come in," said the former national coach to MARCA.

This has not prevented Pascual Momparler from giving his opinion on who should replace him. He can imagine Alejandro Valverde taking up a role within the Federation: "He is a great cyclist who, as a coach, can transform the dynamics of the national team. I hope he plugs in like in his best days and continues to give us joy," he said of the 2018 World champion.

However, Valverde is formally linked to Movistar Team on whose behave he competes on gravel besides other smaller tasks around the team. Momparler believes that it's possible to combine both jobs. "It's something that can be separated well if there is a desire to do so. He can perfectly leave a Movistar cyclist at home to take another from Kern Pharma or whatever, if necessary" he said.

But he did not rule out another option, to avoid conflicts of interest: "If not, Valverde should take a step forward and disassociate himself from the team to start a new personal project," he emphasized.

Regarding his time as national coach, he commented: "When I started, the federation was at its worst financial moment and, despite the difficulties, we achieved remarkable results," referring to Ivan Romeo's U23 ITT title this year and a number of top-10 results among elites.

Finally, he Momparler lets Movistar know that he is available as a possible replacement for Alejandro Valverde if he really ends up leaving the structure: "Eusebio has an empty spot. He has my phone number. I've already talked to him a little bit. In the future anything can happen," Momparler concluded.