Valverde and Quintana to ride Vuelta a Murcia and Clásica de Almería

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For the first time in 2014, Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana are set to line up alongside each other for Movistar in Spain this weekend as the two leaders of the team will ride the Vuelta a Murcia on Saturday and the Clásica de Almería on Sunday. Quintana started his season in Argentina at the Tour de San Luis where he won the overall while Valverde won three stages on his way o to claiming the overall victory in the Vuelta a Andalucía

The Murcian race -190km from Beniel to the hilltop finish in the Castillo de Lorca, features the categorized climbs of Cabezo de la Plata, the Alto de Espuña and the Collado Bermejo.

Valverde has won the Vuelta a Murcia three times with his last win coming in 2008. Quintana was victorious in 2012 in the last year the race had multiple stages. In 2013 the race was cut to a single day as Dani Navarro (Cofidis) won ahead of Bauke Mollema (Belkin) and Valverde.

Joining the two will be brothers Jesús and José Herrada, Pablo Lastras, Javi Moreno, Rubén Plaza, Dayer Quintana, Enrique Sanz and local José Joaquín Rojas.

Clásica de Almería has been won by Australians in the last two years with Mark Renshaw (Blanco) and Michael Matthews (Rabobank) claiming the victory in 2013 and 2012 respectively.

The last Spaniard to win the race was Francisco Pérez (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) in 2006.

At the Andalusian race, which contains four small ascents on the 178km route between Almeria and Roquetas de Mar, Valverde and Quintana will be reunited with José Herrada, Moreno, Lastras and Rojas with the six to be joined by two sprinting forces in Fran Ventoso and Juanjo Lobato.