Valverde makes winning return

Adelaide - Any doubts a two-year doping ban would blunt the racing skills of Alejandro Valverde were ended on Saturday when the Spaniard made a victorious return to the peloton.

Valverde, 31, returned to competition at the Tour Down Under only last week after serving a two-year ban for his implication in the 'Operation Puerto' doping scandal which erupted in 2006.

Despite initially playing down his ambitions at the six-stage WorldTour opener, Valverde showed he still possesses the skills that have made him one of the most feared riders in the pro ranks.

In a thrilling end to the fifth and penultimate stage Saturday Valverde finished off the solid work of his Movistar team to pip Australian champion Simon Gerrans in a duel to the finish.

While Gerrans took the race leader's ochre jersey to put GreenEdge within sight of their maiden WorldTour triumph, Valverde's win caused an uproar of celebration at his team bus.

"It's an ideal comeback," Movistar sports director Jose Luis Arrieta told AFP. "Alejandro has put a lot of work in this past year, it's almost been like he was still competing. That is how much he has trained.

"After more than a year without racing, you never quite know where you are in terms of the competition. But this victory has shown that, when you're a champion, it never quite goes away."

A former two-time winner of the prestigious one-day classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Valverde has also come close to winning the world champion's rainbow jersey in previous years.

His last victory, however, was the Tour of Spain in 2009. He did win the 2010 Tour of Romandie, only for the authorities to annul all his results that year as they applied a retroactive ban.

Looking skinny on his arrival in Adelaide two weeks ago - a sign of race fitness - Valverde's win surprised few in the peloton.

BMC sporting director Rik Verbrugghe told AFP: "I'm not surprised. I'd heard he had done a lot of training before his first race, so for me at the beginning he was my favourite for the Tour Down Under.

"He's shown a lot of people that he's a rider to be reckoned with."

"He's just a class act, and it's right up his alley that kind of finish," said Australian Michael Rogers when asked if he was surprised at Valverde's win.

Overnight leader Martin Kohler agreed: "It's always going to be difficult being away from the peloton for two years.

"But I saw him before (his ban), and now he's back, the same as before. For me it's not really a surprise. He's a really strong cyclist."

Valverde, who was banned after being connected to a blood bag found in a raid in a Spanish laboratory in May 2006 but not banned until later because of official wrangling, was emotional on the podium.

"There's a lot of emotions because now I can release all the fury I was keeping inside," said Valverde.

"Sentimentally speaking, I'd say this is the most special victory in my career. I was desperate for it and got it with the first real chance that came along, so it tastes so good."

Results from stage five of the Tour Down Under, a 151.5 km race from McLaren Vale to Old Willinga Hill:

Stage

1. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/MOV) 3hr 45min 48sec, 2. Simon Gerrans (AUS/GEC) same time, 3. Tiago Machado (POR/RNT) at 2secs, 4. Michael Rogers (AUS/SKY) 4, 5. Rohan Dennis (AUS/UNI) 7, 6. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/SKY) 12, 7. Javier Moreno (ESP/MOV) 13, 8. Jan Bakelants (BEL/RNT) s.t., 9. Jack Bauer (NZL/GRM) 26, 10. Eduard Vorganov (RUS/KAT) s.t.

Selected: 11. Michael Matthews (AUS/RAB) 29, 17. Martin Kohler (SUI/BMC) 1:18, 20. Blel Kadri (FRA/ALM) 2:22, 27. Sandy Casar (FRA/FDJ) 2:25

General classification

1. Simon Gerrans (AUS/GEC) 18hr 49min 24sec, 2. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/MOV) same time, 3. Tiago Machado (POR/RNT) at 8secs, 4. Michael Rogers (AUS/SKY) 14, 5. Rohan Dennis (AUS/UNI) s.t., 6. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/SKY) 18, 7. Jack Bauer (NZL/GRM) 19, 8. Javier Moreno (ESP/MOV) 23, 9. Michael Matthews (AUS/RAB) 29, 10. Eduard Vorganov (RUS/KAT) 32

Selected: 15. Martin Kohler (SUI/BMC) 1:16, 19. Blel Kadri (FRA/ALM) 2:30, 26. Sandy Casar (FRA/FDJ) 2:35, 27. Jeremy Roy (FRA/FDJ) 2:43