Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) has said he shouldn`t be asked about Operación Puerto, insisting that he has proven his credibility in other ways since returning from his doping ban in 2012. The Spaniard won the UCI Road World Championships road race at the end of September and is currently racing in Italy wearing the rainbow jersey, one of the strongest symbols in professional cycling. Yet his victory in Innsbruck reignited debate about his past. Valverde was handed a two-year ban in June 2010, which was backdated to the start of the year and ran to the end of 2011, after he was implicated in Operación Puerto, which saw a police raid on the premises of disgraced doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in 2006. Valverde`s name was linked to one of the many blood bags that were seized but, although the UCI opened disciplinary proceedings, he was cleared by a Spanish judge towards the end of 2007.ADVERTISEMENT However, when the 2008 Tour de France crossed the border to Italy, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) matched the DNA from a blood sample taken from Valverde on the rest day in Cuneo with one of the blood bags. CONI moved to ban Valverde from racing in Italy, which prevented him from riding the 2009 Tour de France as it briefly crossed into Italy on stage 16. After a long legal battle, Valverde was handed a worldwide ban in 2010. He was welcomed back with open arms by the Movistar team in 2012 and has raced with the team since then, winning consistently, including Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2015 and 2017 and four editions of La Fleche Wallonne. Valverde has never opened up about his involvement in Operacion Puerto or shown remorse for it. He has gone from strength to strength since his ban, which has made him one of the most divisive figures in the modern peloton. A favourite for Il Lombardia
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