The Spanish cycling federation has announced its elite men`s long list for the 2018 UCI Road World Championships, which take place in Innsbruck, Austria, later this month. As one might expect, the 13-rider list for the road race is packed with Movistar riders, with four riders from the Spanish trade team in the mix for the eight places that Spain has available for the event on September 30. All but guaranteed a start in the road race is 38-year-old Alejandro Valverde, who was still sitting second overall at the Vuelta a Espaņa ahead of stage 17 on Wednesday.ADVERTISEMENT A rainbow jersey continues to elude Valverde, who has stepped onto the podium at the Worlds road race six times. He`s finished second twice - in 2003 and 2005 - and third four times: in 2006, and three times in a row between 2012 and 2014. His powers may have slightly waned since then, but his consistency at the Vuelta, with two stage wins already this year, indicate that he`s still hungry, and Valverde will likely start in Innsbruck as one of the favourites. Movistar teammate Mikel Landa will be hoping to return from serious injury to make the team.
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