Spanish team could skip World Championships if Valverde banned

By Monika Prell

At the start of the Vuelta a España this morning, the president of the Spanish cycling federation RFEC, Fulgencio Sánchez, said that the Spanish national team could decide not to start at the World Championships if the UCI won't allow Alejandro Valverde to participate. Sánchez assured: "Now we will defend the image of not only a single rider but of our country, and we need to be very united to fight for ourselves." According to El Mundo deportivo he even added that "if they won't let participate Valverde, the federation will take any decision, including the non-participation of the Spanish selection in the World Championships."

Those statements caused a big stir in the Spanish media, so later today RFEC felt impelled to announce via a communiqué that in no way will they renounce the participation in the World Championships. "Today the Murcian cyclist is already inscribed in the mentioned championships", as one of the five riders who are definitive for this event: Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne), Oscar Freire (Rabobank), Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel), Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) and Carlos Sastre (CSC), according to Marca.