Spanish commentators critical of Valverde’s ban

The final GC podium: Simon Spilak (2nd, Lampre-Farnese Vini), Alejandro Valverde (1st, Caisse d'Epargne) and Denis Menchov (3rd, Rabobank)

The final GC podium: Simon Spilak (2nd, Lampre-Farnese Vini), Alejandro Valverde (1st, Caisse d'Epargne) and Denis Menchov (3rd, Rabobank) (Image credit: AFP)

Reaction to the two-year ban imposed on Alejandro Valverde by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has been generally supportive of the Caisse d’Epargne rider. In line with his team’s description of the ban as “unjust and incoherent”, commentators have questioned the severity of the sanction, pointing that Valverde has already missed the opportunity to ride the Giro and Tour in 2009, and cannot now consider competing in either until 2012. He has effectively been banned for three years, they say.

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Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling. He is the author of The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races (Bloomsbury, March 2014) and has translated Christophe Bassons' autobiography, A Clean Break (Bloomsbury, July 2014). 

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