Having been the undisputed leader of the team for most of his career, Alejandro Valverde will ride for Movistar for another three years. The 34-year-old Spaniard has signed a contract extension with the Spanish squad just days after finishing on the Vuelta a Espana podium.
Alejandro Valverde signed a new contract with the Movistar Team and will stay together with Eusebio Unzué, with whom he has raced for nine of his twelve pro seasons since 2005 and achieved a legendary palmarès including more than 80 victories. Valverde, 34, has signed a three-year extension to continue a long term at the top of the sport, having claimed his sixth overall podium in the Vuelta a España last week and hoping to add another success on September 28 as the World Championships - where he has obtained a record five medals in the road race - are held in Ponferrada, Spain.
"I'm supper happy," explained the Murcia-born rider. "This was just what we both wanted: Eusebio wanted me to stay, and I wanted to keep wearing these colours. At the end of the day, this is my home and we get on with each other well. I feel better than when I was 25; seasons seem shorter to me because I'm able to cope with pressure better. Being more mature makes you more calm and helps you see things differently."
The Movistar Team's general manager underlines the strengthened potential this renewal adds to the top World Tour team in the 2014 standings: "He's an incomparable rider. There's not one able to keep as much focus and willingness to win through the whole season like he does. He performs just like the best and gives us lots of reasons to keep supporting him every day. Though he's spent so much time at the top, he shows us to be feeling like a 25-year-old. He's superb."
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