Currently sitting in 4th overall one minute behind leader Chris Horner (RadioShack-Leopard) Alejandro Valverde inspected the individual time trial stage eleven of the Vuelta a España in Tarazona during the first rest day of the race this morning.

Satisfied with the 39km parcours he found in Aragón, the Movistar Team's leader analysed the race so far and put his feelings on the first part of the Vuelta and the eleven stages still to come before the march into Madrid on Sunday 15th into perspective when meeting with the press. These were some of his impressions:

"We're happy to be where we are right now,” Valverde commented. “I don't feel tired at all: I'm still finding myself strong and the standings show we're right into the fight. I'm a bit surprised with the strength Horner has shown, though. Neither I nor any of my rivals were counting on such a demonstration as yesterday's. There are some talented riders here - Basso, Purito [Joaquím Rodriguez] and I are all in great form, and we couldn't follow him yesterday. We weren't expecting him to put a minute into us, but we knew he was strong. We could all see it on the first stage he won and he proved it again yesterday. He pedals easily, [he is] not nervous at all, and he hasn't shown any signs of weakness yet. Still we don't know how far he can get, or whether he will improve or decrease. All pressure will be on him: even though he seems to be enjoying life right know, he'll be suffering more and more. We have to be satisfied with what we’ve got until this point. We're into GC contention, this last stage was the first real hard day in the race and there's almost everything to be played in the race. Leaving Horner aside, all the guys who were at the front yesterday were really close to each other. It's true that Nibali took a bit of an advantage, but he wasn't superior to us at all. He jumped away, made a bit of a gap and kept his own pace, while we were attacking and stopping all the time - that's why he gained some time, but I felt like we were all really equal. The thing is - we all are paying much attention to our rivals, because we all are candidates to win the Vuelta."

Wednesday's ITT is bound to play a significant role in this and Valverde gave a rather detailed analysis of the parcours.

"Despite being a time trial, I don't think it's bad for me at all. We could recon it this morning and the first 20km are really tough. There are four of five kilometres of flat, then a 2km slope, and after that there's the real climb - 10 kilometres on open roads with much headwind, with no really steep sections, but some complicated ones about 5-6%. The differences will be made there. After cresting, a fast descent, some flat and another 4km downhill before entering Tarazona. Except for the first 20-22 kilometres it will be pretty fast. The second time trial in the Tour was more demanding: that was two climbs, two descents and no flat, while we have lots of open air here, as well as long straights. Should I have a good day there, I don't think there will be huge gaps - I could even end up fighting with the top guys."

Speaking of the remaining stages in the Vuelta, Valverde singled out the summit finish in La Gallina is the toughest challenge yet to be negotiated by the riders.

"To me, the three Pyrenean stages are the hardest in this year's Vuelta. The first one, with the mountain-top finish in La Gallina and the climbs prior to it, is really hard, while the second one has 230km on the official route plus a 20k neutral zone - 250km in total, with one-hour-long climbs and such a difficult final, which I know since I won there in the 2012 Tour. Any of the three Pyrenean stages, as well as the other three in Cantabria and Asturias, could make you gain time or lost it all. There's much strategy on the table: we can play the waiting card, so one rival or the other might bonk, or attack on some climb where we think we can inflict some damage. Anything can happen."

Valverde also commented, very positively, on Fernando Alonso entering the world of cycling by buying the license held by Euskaltel-Euskadi.

"When I was told about it through the radio yesterday, I almost went crazy about it. I can only take my hat off to him and congratulate him for his choice. Losing a team like Euskaltel was really painful. We know he likes our sport much - he rides a lot, but taking such a strong gamble is another thing, something really special and good for cycling. Let's hope this helps so other brands follow his path. That's a great gesture from him."