A study in light and shadow? Title: The Green Bullet – The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Alejandro Valverde and Spanish Cycling’s Corruption
Author: Matt Rendell
Publisher: Seven Dials
Year: 2023
Pages: 269
Order: Orion
What it is: A biography, of sorts, of Alejandro Valverde
Strengths: Whether you love him or loathe him, Valverde lived in interesting times and Rendell does an entertaining job of reminding us of those times
Weaknesses: It’s a long-read feature stretched thin, to the point that the conclusions Rendell reaches do not feel earned The Green Bullet – The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Alejandro Valverde and Spanish Cycling’s Corruption, The record books tell us that Simon Špilak won the 2010 Tour de Romandie for the Italian Lampre team. That’s not how fans remember it. They remember Alejandro Valverde in a Caisse d’Epargne jersey winning the final stage, a tough day in the mountains, and – powered by that victory – climbing to the top of the general classification.
It was a win that offered some consolation for a barren Classics season, with La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège – races Valverde had won in the past and which fell either side of his thirtieth birthday – going to others.
Speaking to the press after his victory in Romandie, Valverde noted that he was perhaps feeling a little tired from a season that had started in January and seen him take his only other victory of the year so far, the overall win at the Tour […]
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