Alejandro Valverde

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At Monday's press conference, Contador publicly admitted for the first time that he can compete to win the race for a third time

Nairo Quintana took command of the Spanish grand tour Sunday, but his rivals — including Alberto Contador — are right on his heels

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Winner Anacona takes stage 9 and very nearly steals the overall lead at the Vuelta, but Nairo Quintana saves the red jersey for Movistar

Nacer Bouhanni edges Michael Matthews to win stage 8 as a battle in the wind leaves Alejandro Valverde in red and the GC largely intact

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Check out Peloton Magazine's author page.

Check out Shane Stokes's author page.

The Vuelta heats up in stage 6, as the GC contenders come out to play, and the pretenders are left behind on the steep climb to La Zubia

Marquee names are battling in the opening stages of the Vuelta a España, delivering on the promise of the season's most exciting grand tour

Movistar's Alejandro Valverde is best on La Zubia, beating GC heavy-hitters on a steep final climb

Nacer Bouhanni powers to the win in stage 2 as Alejandro Valverde collects the red race leader's jersey from teammate Jonathan Castroviejo

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Valverde and Quintana lead heavily favored Movistar into the Vuelta in what could be the final chapter in the transition of power

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Check out Shane Stokes's author page.

Valverde quieted critics who said he blew a chance to finish on the Tour de France podium with a big win at the Clasica San Sebastian

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Valverde helps forge a break in the final kilometers of the WorldTour race through Basque Country, then drops it to ride in solo for the win

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One of Spain's most elegant cities, San Sebastián will be on display at the end of the 219km race this weekend

The Spaniard has come under fire following his fourth-place performance in the Tour de France

Vincenzo Nibali’s Tour victory comes at the end of three weeks of chaos that left only the strong standing

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Three men are separated by 15 seconds heading into Saturday's time trial, but there will only be room for two on the podium in Paris

The Astana rider increases his overall lead with a strong solo ride up the Hautacam to win his fourth stage of the race

The American is ready to help escort teammate Tejay van Garderen to the final Tour podium via the Pyrénées this week

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American Tejay van Garderen is among five men vying for spots on the Tour de France podium in the race’s final week

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The Spaniard has not garnered much attention yet, but that's poised to change as the Tour pedals into the race's first major climbs

Tony Gallopin attacks twice in the final kilometers of stage 11 at the Tour, which leads to France’s second stage win

Alberto Contador and his Tinkoff-Saxo bank attacked to reshuffle the GC deck in the first of three hard days across the soggy Vosges

Alberto Contador lost considerable time on stage 5 in the battle for the GC at the Tour de France, while Alejandro Valverde fared slightly better

This year may be Alejandro Valverde's final opportunity to lead the Spanish team at the Tour de France

Alejandro Valverde is rewriting the script on how to prepare for the Tour de France skipping races like the Critérium du Dauphiné

Cadel Evans was among the beneficiaries when a late crash rocked the peloton on Thursday at the Giro, but should he have waited?

Chris Froome secures his second straight Tour de Romandie victory with a win in the finishing time trial

Simon Gerrans’ victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège capped a spring classics season that was wide open and unpredictable in the peloton

Defending champ Martin crashes in the final corner, chasing a late breakaway, and in the finale Gerrans rockets to the victory at Liège

Spaniard takes his second Flèche Wallonne and hopes to add a third Liège–Bastogne–Liège title in four days' time

Spaniard attacks to win the midweek Ardennes classic ahead of reigning Liège–Bastogne–Liège champion Daniel Martin

The Spaniard wants to add to his classics win total and make up for a third at Liège-Bastogne-Liège last year

Contador finishes second in the final time trial behind world champion Martin as Valverde plummets off the podium

The two riders are expected to contend for the overall win at the five-stage race that started Monday in Spain

Movistar director says the Spanish team is standing by its decision to send Quintana to Italy, even with Sky showing weakness

Movistar says it was well worth it to bring Alejandro Valverde north to Belgium for a taste of the cobblestones that he will face in July

The Spaniard is racing on the stones this week and we spent a few minutes with the race machine he's testing ahead of the Tour de France

Valverde caps his third-place finish at Strade Bianche with a victory in Roma Maxima, just inches ahead of the charging peloton

Spanish team takes seven riders, including Nairo Quintana, to Formula One facility near London to hone aero positions

Spanish team sets new mark for wins in the early season with Valverde's third Ruta del Sol victory

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) will make his season debut at Volta ao Algarve

"It's obvious that our goal must be to try to win one of three grand tours," said team manager Eusebio Unzué

Quintana will ride in a series of races in Spain and Italy before tackling the Giro, in which he will be the team's leader

Reports show the route for this year's race offers something for everyone in the field

Valverde defends Spain's 2-3 finish in the road race at this year's world championships in Florence

Valverde has struggled in the Tour since his comeback from a two-year racing ban, but if luck is with him, he sees a podium in his future

Careful to avoid burning out its young Colombian star, Movistar will lean on Valverde as Tour leader in 2014

Spaniard is planning to start E3 Harelbeke and preview the cobbles included in the 2014 Tour's key fifth stage

The Colombian had an electrifying Tour de France debut this year, winning two jerseys and a stage in the mountains

Retirements and the nation’s financial crisis are having a devastating effect on the peloton

Rodriguez, Valverde, and Nibali are seeking a victory after coming up short in the worlds road race

Riders 30 years old and above could start to phase out of contention in the worlds road race moving forward

The rush to judge Alejandro Valverde's worlds shortcomings diminishes the true quality of Rui Costa's perfect ride for rainbow stripes

The Portuguese held his fire until the final kilometers of the men's world championship battle, then blew his rivals out of the water

If a Spanish rider wins Sunday's men's road race, he will have overcome the race within his own team as much as the foreign competition

Chris Horner defied his age (41) to win the Vuelta on what he called a course “tailor-made” for him

Chris Horner continued to shock and awe his rivals at the Vuelta a España, and all but staked his claim for victory in the Spanish tour

Starting Thursday, a final, brutish push through the mountains of northern Spain will determine the winner of the 2013 Vuelta a España

The Astana captain said he's riding with 20 less watts than he had at the Giro d'Italia

Chris Horner and the GC hopefuls will chase race leader Vincenzo Nibali through the Pyrénées this weekend

Almost a year after earning the rainbow jersey, Philippe Gilbert is finally able to put a check mark in the win column

Sicilian takes the GC lead, but three men still hold hope of upsetting the Giro d'Italia champion in Madrid

Vuelta GC battle takes form after selective first half, but it's only now getting good

Moreno takes the stage win and a crucial time bonus that put him in the red jersey by a single second ahead of overnight leader Roche

The 41-year-old is three seconds from the red jersey and says he’s ready for the first weekend in the mountains

A number of riders expected to contend for the GC have fallen behind in the first three days of racing

Rodríguez and Valverde may be nearing the end of their grand tour runs, but they start the Vuelta carrying the weight of the Spanish tour