No way can I beat this guy, so I did anyway

Well so it seems. 'The Murcian appreciated the uphill terrain in Privas. "I'm a complete rider," he admitted. "But as a sprinter, on a flat road, there's no way I can beat riders like Hushovd. Today's sprint was a special one. I accelerated with power 300 meters before the line."'

Yeah, OK, Valverde's a bit of a sprinter, but to beat Hushovd? In a sprint? What's wrong with the world? Apparently the uphill finish did him in. So Hushovd is strictly a biggest-cog high-end speed on the flats kind of guy. Or - my personal preference - he just chose the wrong gear...

And Valverde will be there

Well, we hope he'll be there come July. He can climb and sprint. He can mix it with anyone in a tour - and even in a Classic. Whilst he does have a small cloud still hanging about from his brush with that Spanish Affair, he's not in the frame at the moment. So tick Valverde come July. Note also that Cadel Evans missed the key break but wasn't too far off the pace.
One year ago in Ans, Alejandro Valverde found himself just short of his second victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but this year the Caisse d'Epargne rider hit back with Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Fränk Schleck (Team CSC) left wondering what could have been. The 28 year-old, winner of the 2006 Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, added a third Ardennes Classic to his already rich palmarès by waiting until the final 200 metres to swing by his two escape companions.

Valverde: not guilty, but not welcome, either

Ah, the saga of the UCI vs Valverde continues. He's innocent, cleared of all matters related to Operacion Puerto one moment and then under the microscope again the next. Mind you he's not guilty - not yet, anyway. But we'll exclude him from the World Champs just in case. Of course. It's the cycling way.

CN reports here: The public tug-of-war over Spaniard Alejandro Valverde's participation in the World Championships reached a new level of intensity on Saturday after the UCI upheld its decision to exclude the rider from the race in Stuttgart at the month's end. The UCI reiterated that Valverde is officially under investigation for alleged doping, and according to the organisation's rules, he cannot compete. This comes one day after Spain defied the UCI and registered Valverde to ride despite the UCI's insistence that he was not allowed.