Fourth place taken at the recently finished 101st edition of the Tour de France was considered a huge blow for Alejandro Valverde, as the Spaniard faced what probably was one of his best and last chance to reach the podium of the greatest grand tour event. In such circumstances, the Movistar leader faced a huge wave criticism coming from Spanish media for wasting an opportunity after Christopher Froome (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) pulled out of competition, but remained graceful in his defeat, admitting that he has done his best and failed.

Valverde did nothing to hide his ambitions to ride in a defense of his podium spot after Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) established his never challenged dominance in the race, and managed to maintain his runner-up spot through the first half of the three-week event. A visible fatigue took its toll, however, and the 34-year old Spaniard lacked strength and consistency to keep up with the mailot jaune and French coalition in the Pyrenees and the final time trial.

Enraged by the criticism he was forced to face after returning home, the Movistar leader struck back at his critics for undermining his efforts and claimed that he did everything he could to finish on the podium in Paris.

“You can accept the critics, but there are people who think that everything is easy, that everything comes easy, but that’s not all,” Valverde told VeloNews. “A lot of these critics have not ever ridden a bike, let alone raced … They have no idea.”

“We were in the Tour, we fought for the podium right until the final stage — so you didn’t reach it? — but we were as close as you can be, and everyone gave everything they had, so we have to be content,” Valverde said. “Everyone has a right to think what they want, but you have to be here at the Tour, and finish fourth … I am not mad, I am just saying things the way they are.

“I wanted to be there, but in the end, I just couldn’t do it,” Valverde continued. “I don’t know why. Maybe it was the pressure of having [the podium] so close. That’s rare for me, because I am used to the pressure, but the Tour is the Tour … and maybe the pressure cost me a little bit. I was confident to reach the podium, but in the end it just wasn’t meant to be.”

With his future still undecided, Valverde also admitted that the last edition of the Tour de France could have been his best occasion to succeed as a grand tour contender as the Spanish squad would be opting for this year’s Giro d’Italia winner Nairo Quintana in their future three-week campaigns.

“Was it my last chance? I don’t know. Look at Peraud, he’s 37, and he ends up second. I am not going to obsess about it,” Valverde said. “I know that Nairo is coming up very strong. Above all, I am a realist, and we all know that he’s going to be stronger than me, and that’s it.”