Alejandro Valverde is currently 4th in the general classification, 4:02 behind British Christopher Froome (Team Sky). The Movistar Team rider is also th rider who receives the most fan mail in the Tour de France. Company Docapost announced that he received more than 100 letters and has finally succeeded in toppling Rui Costa.

“The most popular is Valverde with 123 letters, second is Rui Costa, even if he’s abandoned, and third is Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), fourth is Chris Froome (Team Sky) and fifth is Jean-Christophe Péraud (Ag2R La Mondiale),” Sylvain Fourre of Docapost told Cyclingnews.

Fourre added that illness and injuries tend to bring a surge of popularity.

About French riders, he said he is a bit surprising we haven’t had more support for the French. “Last year, Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) got a lot of backing” - he was the most popular in 2012 - “and at this same point in the race last year, he would be in second, third or fourth, this year he’s maybe seventh or eighth. I think maybe Valverde is getting so much support because he’s always on the attack.”

If you want to send a card to your favorite rider, you can find more informations on www.docapost.com.