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Millar wins stage, Valverde still on course for Tour win

Spain’s Alejandro Valverde was on course to win the Tour of Spain after keeping his overall lead in Saturday’s 20th and penultimate stage, a time-trial won by Britain’s David Millar.

The Caisse d’Epargne rider finished in seventh position in the 27.8km stage in the central city of Toledo, 36 seconds behind Millar.

He was 55 seconds ahead of countryman Samuel Sanchez in the overall standings ahead of yesterday’s final stage, a 110km race between Rivas Vaciamadrid and the Spanish capital.

“I am very happy, I feel liberated. I really wanted to win a big Tour. I know that with luck I can do it,” Valverde told a news conference.

And luck he has already had in the event. All his closest rivals except Italy’s Ivan Basso suffered falls: Sanchez, fellow Spaniard Ezequiel Mosquera and Dutchman Robert Gesink.

Australian Cadel Evans, an outside favorite until Valverde took the golden jersey from him at the end of the ninth stage, also lost a lot of time due to a puncture in the 13th stage.

“It’s true that it was very close but these are things that happen,” Valverde said of Evans. “If he hadn’t had that puncture things would perhaps have been different, I don’t know.”

Valverde, who finished second last year, did not win a single stage this year. But he remained strong throughout, helped by his team, and was able to respond to attacks by his rivals when needed, especially in the 14th and 19th stages.

Valverde is now eyeing the world championships in Switzerland later this month and next year’s Tour de France.

He had to miss the Tour this year because part of the race went through Italy where he remains banned because of alleged links to an anti-doping investigation. He has appealed the ban. Time-trial specialist Millar took advantage of the absence of Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara, who won the first two such races in the Vuelta before leaving to prepare for the world championships, to take Saturday’s stage.

He covered the distance in 35 minutes, 53 seconds, ahead of Sanchez, Evans and Basso.

The Scotsman described Cancellara “the best in the world in the speciality and I had to take advantage of the fact that he wasn’t there.”
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