"It’s as if we’ve gone through the same village seven times" - Alejandro Valverde blasts Vuelta organizers over 'dangerous' route
Cycling
The opening three stages of the Vuelta a Espana saw the peloton in the Netherlands, with pan-flat days that gave the sprinters opportunities to thrive, but had the climbers and GC riders under stress as they looked to stay upright.
Valverde told reporters after yesterday's stage that "it’d be better I have a shower before I start talking" when asked about the third stage of the race, pointing towards the dangerous route in the opinion of the veteran who's racing his final Vuelta. On stage two he crashed towards the end of the day, but kept his position in the overall classification as it was inside the final three kilometers. On stage three he stayed upright, but had a lot of criticism towards the organizers.
“We’ve had a lot of scares in general, because, well, the route… if I say what I think now, better I say nothing. Fine, we’ve got through it, and now we’re going to Spain, so bien," he said. Reporters on sight pushed the question further to Valverde to understand better the context, taking into account that there were no mass crashes as is sometimes the case on the opening days of a Grand Tour.
”The route? The route? Hey, come on, don’t fuck with me. Nope, I’m not doing to say anything because I’m going to get hot under the collar. Bien, that’s it... No, man, these kinds of circuits just can’t be. It’s as if we’ve gone through the same village seven times. I don’t think there were any more villages out there that we could have gone through," he detailed.
With the convoy travelling back to Spain on this first rest day of the race, the peloton will see less technical roads away from highly dense Dutch plains, one which will also see the first stages that suit the veteran well.
Valverde praised his team for the work on the third day: "Because we [the team] controlled things incredibly well... With everything I’ve said now, I’ve said more than enough.”
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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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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 had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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