Alejandro Valverde
shrugged off the threat of a ban by cycling’s governing body as he won
the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland. Sion, which hosted the 121.8-km
final stage won by the Spaniard, is located between the headquarters of
the International Cycling Union in Aigle and Lausanne, home of the Court
of Arbitration for Sport.
And Valverde’s victory, with an 11-second lead over young
Slovenian Simon Spilak and 21 seconds over Russian Denis Menchov, seemed
like a message to both authorities.
“It was a hard day with the cold and rainy conditions but I proved
this season I could adapt to bad weather,” said Valverde, who was one
second behind Rogers at the start of the stage. Valverde said he would
now take a rest and return for next month’s Criterium du Dauphine
Libere — if the UCI let him.
(Reuters)
