Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is in Belgium to ride Dwars door Vlaanderen, the mid-week warm-up race for the Tour of Flanders, which takes place this Sunday. His presence on the start list of Dwars is mostly as cobbles training for Stage 9 of the 2018 Tour de France, which will take on 15 secteurs between Arras and Roubaix.
In an interview with Sporza, the veteran rider spoke of his aims for Dwars door Vlaanderen, saying, 'I am here for the Tour stage, but I am also ambitious. I am a very competitive rider and wherever I go I want to do well.'
However, he also hinted at getting more out of his visit to the Flemish region.
'Sunday in De Ronde? It is not 100 percent excluded,' he told the Belgian outlet, without being tied to a definitive answer.
Valverde's teammate Mikel Landa has already been doing some cobbles training of his own, riding last week's E3 Harelbeke where he finished 86th.
With Movistar present in Belgium and the Tour of Flanders just days away, one rider might find themselves disappointed - or relieved - if they are removed from the start list and replaced with Valverde.
As it stands, the Movistar riders due to take on De Ronde are: Daniele Bennati, Andre Amador, Richard Carapaz, Imanol Eriviti, Nuno Bico, Nelson Oliveira and Jasha Sutterlin.
You can find the entire provisional start list here: Tour of Flanders 2018: Route and start list
Cyclist.co.uk will be reporting on both the women's and men's Dwars door Vlaanderen today, after which we may have a clearer idea of Valverde's intentions for the weekend.
