Strange but true. Alejandro Valverde, now in his fourth year and with more than 30 Grand Tours under his belt, has competed in the Giro d'Italia only once. But with less than five months left in his roller-coaster career, the Spaniard is looking to double that record.

On Friday, the 42-year-old will start the Giro again, six years after his last appearance in 2016. That year, he completed his "set" of Grand Tour podiums, including a stage win in the Andalo over Giro leader Steven Kruijswijk. Valverde then finished third in Turin, but unlike Kruijswijk, he never returned to the Giro after that. Until now.

It remains to be seen what Valverde can accomplish in the Grand Tour at an age when other racers have long since chosen to watch the Giro from the comfort of their couches. He has just finished on the podium for the ninth time at La Flèche Wallonne and finished in the top 10 at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Until Ivan Sosa's two wins at the Vuelta Asturias last weekend, Valverde was the only male Movistar rider (the women's team is a whole other story) to actually win a race this season. at 42, you never know what will happen to Valverde, sometimes it happens.

What was notable about Wednesday's press conference is that while Valverde completely excluded himself from the GC contention, which is Sosa's goal, the Spaniard did not. He did, however, say that winning the second stage of the Giro was a satisfying result as he heads into the final stage at the Vuelta in September.

"For me it was important to come back to the Giro, I have only done it once and I wanted to come back again this last year," Valverde said.

"It's a bit difficult to stay at the front for so long because of my age and the fact that it's a three-week race. But I am very happy to win a stage."

The possibility of Valverde wearing the pink leader's jersey is not entirely out of the question in the first week, given the tricky uphill finish to the first stage on Friday, but he seemed to want to temper his expectations for the tough first stage on Friday.

"It's not for true sprinters, and I'm going to see the finish to make sure," he said. It's a great stage for Mathieu Van Der Pol. It's a great stage for Mathieu Van der Pol. We have to try to win a stage over the next three weeks, but we don't need the pressure. There is no pressure, not even in the time trial on day two. But if the win is decided on the first day, that's all that matters."

Valverde, who has been a professional since 2002, may find it more difficult than usual to accept that he has been gone for too long. Indeed, Movistar sporting director Max Chandri told La Gazzetta dello Sport correspondent Ciro Scognamiglio this morning, "I don't know if a champion like Alejandro can extend his career a little more I don't know if a champion like Alejandro can extend his career a little more."

However, Valverde said, "This is my last year and everything has a beginning and an end. I have decided that this is my last year. And I'm enjoying it too

"So I'll start this Giro, go to the Vuelta, and hopefully the World Championships. It would be great to finish my career in Lombardy and I like that race very much."

Valverde has competed in 15 Vuelta's and 14 Tour's, so why not the Giro?

"My race calendar is always very well structured. But the last few years I concentrated on the Ardennes Classics. It would have been difficult to keep that form going into the Giro and then into the Tour and the Vuelta."

"But it's true that I loved the Giro when I raced it. And now I'm happy to be back here."