On the back of an 8th place in the Tour de France, Alejandro Valverde has now set his sights on the biggest one-day and stage races in his native Spain. Starting the autumn season with no pressure, the Movistar captain will target Saturday's Clasica San Sebastian and the Vuelta a Espana which starts August 24.

Alejandro Valverde had a Tour de France of mixed emotions. On one hand, his team had a fantastic race, picking up three stage wins and putting Nairo Quintana into white, polka-dots and 2nd on GC. On the other hand, what could very well have been a guaranteed podium spot slipped out of the hands of the experienced Spaniard when an untimely mechanical saw him lose 10 minutes in the crosswinds on stage 13.

However, Valverde won't dwell on his bad luck and he plans to bounce back exactly as he did it in 2012. One year ago, his GC hopes at the Tour had all come to nothing but he saved his race with a magnificent stage win in the final mountain stage to Peyragudes. He went on to target his home races Clasica San Sebastian and Vuelta a Espana, in which he finished 26th and 2nd respectively.

This year he has no plans of slowing down either and will once again target those two races. Last year he started the Vuelta with no ambitions and surprised many with a splendid ride that allowed him to get onto the final podium, win two stages and lock up the win in the points competition. As the Tour has once again been his major target this year, he plans to start the races with no pressure once again.

"I will do them both like I did them in 2012, simply going in there in good condition, but to see what I can do," he told Cyclingnews. "With what I've achieved so far this season, and what I've helped the team do in the Tour de France, I think I have done everything that has been asked of me. Now it's just going to be a case of seeing what more I can get, but without pressure."

Valverde was also asked to point to his most dangerous rivals and he named the usual suspects.

"The Colombians [Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Henao - Sky], Joaquim [Rodriguez - Katusha] and Nibali (Astana) will be the main rivals," he said. "We'll have to see if Alberto [Contador - Saxo-Tinkoff] decides to come too."

The Clasica San Sebastian will be held on Saturday and has a profile which is perfectly suited to Valverde who won the race in 2008. The Vuelta starts on August 24 with a team time trial in Galicia.

You can follow both races on CyclingQuotes.com/live.