Movistar eye Tour de France podium

The Movistar team are hoping veteran rider Alejandro Valverde can finally finish the Tour de France with a place on the podium at the age of 33.

The Spanish team announced their nine-man line-up on Monday for the race that gets underway in Porto Vecchio, Corsica, on Saturday and runs until July 21.

Valverde, whose best finish was sixth in 2007 and who led the race for two days in 2008, has targeted a top-three finish, according to team chief Eusebio Unzue.

“It has been his ambition all season,” he said.

“He is in the best possible form. The fact he has never finished on the podium in the Tour is more a question of bad luck than anything else.”

Unzue said this year’s Tour would be more of a learning experience for the team’s highly-thought-of Colombian climbing specialist, 23-year-old Nairo Quintana, who won the Tour of the Basque Country earlier this season.

“The expectations are high for him because he has had some impressive results,” said Unzue.

“But I don’t think he is ready to take on the responsibility to challenge in the general classification.

“For him, it will be an apprenticeship. The philosophy of the team is to always let the young riders grow up behind another leader,” added the 57-year-old, citing the example of how when he was at Banesto in the 1990s, Miguel Indurain shadowed Pedro Delgado before becoming a champion in his own right.

Team: Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Rui Costa (POR), Nairo Quintana (COL), Andrey Amador (CRC), Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP), Ruben Plaza (ESP), Imanol Erviti (ESP), Ivan Gutierrez (ESP), Jos Joaquin Rojas (ESP).