'We’ve had a lot of scares' - Valverde critical of Vuelta a España's Grand Depart

Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) has delivered a broadside of criticisms over the roads used during Vuelta a España's opening stages in Holland, telling Spanish TV and other media after stage 3 that, “we’ve had a lot of scares.”

Valverde, who fell close to the finish on stage 2 in Utrecht, but was seemingly uninjured, expressed his frustration and disappointment after stage 3 in Breda, saying that “it’d be better I have a shower before I start talking,” explaining his need to calm down a little.

However, he then proceeded to slate the course, as well as saying, “well that’s over, now let’s head on to Spain.”

Asked about how his stage race had gone so far, Valverde, who riding his last Vuelta a España, said, “We’ve had a lot of scares in general, because, well, the route… Better first I have a shower, then we can talk,  because if I say what I think now, [it'd be] better I say nothing. Fine, we’ve got through it, and now we’re going to Spain, so bien.”

Asked about what specifically troubled him and whether it was the organisation or the routes that were responsible, Valverde said, ”The route? The route? Hey, come on, don’t fuck with me. Nope, I’m not doing to say anything because I’m going to get hot under the collar. Bien, that’s it.”

As the journalists persisted, Valverde continued by saying, “no, man, these kinds of circuits [routes] just can’t be. It’s as if we’ve gone through the same village seven times. I don’t think there were any more villages out there that we could have gone through.”

Valverde said that he had not fallen on stage 3 due to Movistar's team work.
“Because we [the team] controlled things incredibly well."

He also said that he was not going to complain to the organisation. “With everything I’ve said now," he concluded, "I’ve said more than enough.”