Alejandro Valverde is heading into what will probably be his final Tour de France as team leader and he has reduced his amount of racing to stay fresh for his big objective. Today he spoke about his sensations after last week's return to competition and he feels confident that he is up for a good performance in both La Grande Boucle and Sunday's national championships road race.

With Nairo Quintana emerging as one of the best grand tour riders in the world, Alejandro Valverde knows that 2014 will probably his final chance to start the Tour de France as Movistar team leader. With lots of wins all year, however, the Spaniard probably has his best ever chance to reach his big objective of finishing on the podium.

Valverde has usually done a lot of racing but this year he has been active in competition a lot less than he usually has. In fact he ended his spring season already after the Ardennes classics, skipping the Tour de Romandie. Furthermore, he decided to do the Route du Sud instead of the Criterium du Dauphiné or the Tour de Suisse which are usually the preferred warm-up races for the Tour.

Today he attended a press conference after attending the unveiling of the Desayunos Deportivos paper and he made it clear that he was pleased with the outcome of the three-day race where he finished second overall behind Nicolas Roche.

"I think I go to the Tour de France with a good condition," he said. "Above all I have a great desire to ride my bike and I have a fresh mind. By doing the Route du Sud instead of the Dauphiné or Suisse, I got three days of intense competition but it wasn't as tough as the other races. After a month in Sierra Nevada I learnt that our rivals are strong. I think we will do a good Tour.

"Even though I still don't know it very well, I like the circuit in Ponferrada [that will be used for the Spanish championships], especially because it is the same that will be used for the Worlds in September. I have several strong teammates but in the Spanish championships you always have to give everything. However, the most important is to find the right feelings and get to July 5 in the best possible condition."