Movistar announce Colombia 2.1, Valencia rosters

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Fresh off Winner Anacona's overall win last week at the Vuelta a San Juan, Movistar have announced their rosters for the upcoming Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which runs February 6-10 in Spain, and the Tour Colombia 2.1, a six-day race that starts February 12 in Medellin.

World champion Alejandro Valverde will begin his season in Valencia, defending the tittle he won last year, and also in 2007 and 2004. Jürgen Roelandts, a stage winner in 2018, will support Valverde, alongside Rafa Valls, Rubén Fernández, Nelson Oliveira, Carlos Verona and Héctor Carretero.

The five-day Spanish race begins with a 10km opening time trial that has an uphill finish in Orihuela. The race also includes a mountain-top arrival to Alcossebre on Saturday and stages with hilly finishes on Thursday and Friday.

In Colombia, director Pablo Lastras will lead a six-man squad that is similar to the one that supported Anacona's win in Argentina. Marc Soler, who arrived in the Antioquia region of Colombia last week, will be the only change on the roster, which features Colombians Anacona and Nairo Quintana, Ecuador's Richard Carapaz, Argentinian Eduardo Sepúlveda and Spaniard Jorge Arcas.

The Tour Colombia 2.1 starts with an opening 14km team time trial in and around Medellín. The race concludes Sunday, February 17, with a 173.8km stage from El Retiro to Alto de las Palmas climb, a 16km ascent that averages 6 per cent and tops out at nearly 2,500m above sea level.

Movistar for Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana: Héctor Carretero, Rubén Fernández, Nelson Oliveira, Jürgen Roelandts, Rafa Valls, Alejandro Valverde, Carlos Verona

Movistar for Tour Colombia 2.1: Winner Anacona, Jorge Arcas, Richard Carapaz, Nairo Quintana, Eduardo Sepúlveda, Marc Soler