Valverde and Aranburu "not allowed" to ride World championships, coach confirms, as Spain struggles to form team

It is known that there is an overall feeling of discontent within the Spanish national team as many riders will be unavailable or not allowed to race the World Championships, and the problem is intensifying as team coach Pascual Momparler reveals further absences.

Momparler told AS that "Alejandro [Valverde] would like to be at the start of the World Cup, but he is not allowed to. Just like his teammate Alex Aranburu. The team is engaged in the fight against relegation". This comes as another hit to the Spanish team which is seeing most of it's possible leaders absent. Valverde was the winner of the World Championships in Innsbruck back in 2018, and had been pointing towards one final participation, in a hilly route that suited him.

However Movistar Team's current position at World Tour level is at risk and the management is reported to keep it's riders in the regular calendar so as to score as many points as possible to secure the team's future at the highest level. Valverde, who has been racing the Vuelta a Espana, and Alex Aranburu who has recently won the Tour du Limousin and is showing strong form in a secondary calendar, have been crossed off the list.

But those were not the only absences, as Momparler also confirmed the absence of Pello Bilbao. “These are also our leaders. I have also been in contact with Pello Bilbao, but he will end his season after the Canadian classics," he revealed. "I also spoke with Luis Léon Sánchez and Mikel Landa. We'll see". With three weeks remaining, it is still a complicated situation for Spain to manage, also with the reported likelihood that there will not be a rider representing the team in the time-trial.