'Retiring without the public didn't appeal to me' – Valverde opens up on career end

Alejandro Valverde hung up his bike at the end of 2022, although this year he has continued to compete in the gravel category, almost reaching the podium in the World Championship. He continues to take care of himself and continues to act as an ambassador for Movistar Team.

Last weekend he was in Badajoz, where he gave a talk at the CB Foundation together with the Badajoz cyclist Rubén Tranco in which, among other topics, he talked about his retirement and the reason why he did not arrive earlier.

In statements collected by the colleagues of El Desmarque, Valverde recognizes that if it had not been for the pandemic he probably would have left cycling some season earlier:

"For me, professional cycling has always been full of the public, the atmosphere, people screaming. Retiring without that didn't appeal to me."

Despite the rumors about his possible return, he made it very clear in Extremadura that he enjoyed his 2022 season, still among the best in the world, and that he hung up his bike at the right time and enjoyed it:

That year I was already seeing more people and my level was being very good, so I said it was going to be my last year. I ran every race thinking it was going to be my last, I enjoyed it a lot. I retired at a good time, having a good level and being in the top 10 in the world."