Alejandro Valverde tempted to race in Tour of Flanders

London : Alejandro Valverde has said that he is tempted to stay on in Belgium after Dwars Door Vlaanderen and race in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday for the first time in his career.

The Spaniard is currently enjoying strong form after bouncing back from a serious knee injury sustained on the opening stage of the 2017 Tour de France that wrecked the latter half of last season.

Valverde has joined Movistar team-mate and fellow Grand Tour leader Nairo Quintana at Dwars Door Vlaanderen principally to gain experience of racing on cobbles ahead of stage nine of this year’s Tour de France, which features sections of pavé in what could be a significant stage. The 37-year-old told Sporza in an interview that it wasn’t “100 per cent excluded” that he would ride the Tour of Flanders.