Alejandro Valverde is so versatile that he aims to win almost every race, except those that end in a bunch sprint. It is no surprise that the Movistar captain is the big favourite to win today’s second race in the Challenge Mallorca, Trofeo Andratx, that finishes on the climb of Mirador Colomer where he won in 2005.

The Spaniard feels "good. I am looking forward to the race and hope to start well,” he told Biciciclismo yesterday. In his debut yesterday he didn’t take it easy. "I'm happy. We were always attentive in the wind sand tayed well-organized, and finally Rojas’ third place gives us satisfaction. I was not caught out in the echelons and even worked with my teammated because I like to do so. I feel good and fit,”

As always, the Murcia climate has allowed him to arrive in a good physical condition because he did "not skip a single day of training and that makes you fit, but today all teams are good because they train in Alicante and Benidorm .”

Valverde does not hide his options on the Mirador Colomer. "It's true that I look competitive, I won’t deny that, but it is also true that we have rivals that are in good form. I'm not obsessed. And we'll see what the team wants because there are teammates who are very good too. We will not focus solely on me. They know me and everyone knows I'm competitive wherever I go, but there are more options," he explained. "Ten years have passed," he exclaimed when asked about his success in 2005.

On Saturday he will also do the demanding Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana and then focus on his Asian tour where he will ride in Dubai, Qatar and Oman. "I will travel to Madrid on Sunday and on Monday we will leave for Dubai. I wanted to do Dubai and Oman and go home in between. But in such a short space of time, it made no sense. It was my decision to do everything. Qatar is by no means made for me, but it will be an experience and will allow me to do some hard kilometres,” he told BiciCiclismo.

His schedule has not yet been defined. He will skip both Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico "because it would be too much as I would then have 21 days of competition in a month." 

"I always like the Basque Country and Catalonia and I have been good there, too. Honestly, I do not prefer one of them. Like last year I did the Basque Country and this year I will maybe try in Catalonia," he adds. The latter scenario is likely as Nairo Quintana is set to lead Movistar in the Basque race.

Of course he will not skip the Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April. "The Ardennes classics are sacred to me. They are races that suit me very well and the first really important goal where I want to be good," he said.