Veteran Spanish all-rounder Alejandro Valverde will compete in the 2020 Tour de France with Olympic aspirations, his Movistar team manager Eusebio Unzué has confirmed. [According to the Spanish website Zikloland, "Alejandro has no races other than the Tour ahead of the Olympics.

Unzue, who has led Movistar for many years, said, "Perhaps this is not ideal preparation.

"We arrive in Japan on Tuesday at the earliest, so we won't have time to adjust to the time difference and the climate. But that won't be a problem for Alejandro."

Early reports on the timetable for next year's Tour indicate that the final stage of the race will end a few hours earlier than in 2019, when it ended just after 8 p.m. The 2020 Tour has already been moved up a week to avoid a conflict with the Games.

"If he finishes the Tour, which we hope he will, we will try to make sure he arrives there [the competition] in the best condition possible," Untwe commented. If he does other races as a buildup, he may be fresher, but he will lack the form that comes from racing in the Grand Tours."

Valverde's choice of the Tour de France differs from the two biggest stars, Vincenzo Nibali and Romain Bardet, who chose the Giro d'Italia instead of the three-week Grand Tour in July.

Valverde finished ninth in this year's Tour de France. He was the victim of a very bad crash and a broken knee on the opening stage in 2017 and immediately abandoned, his best result being third overall in 2015.

He also won three stages, one in 2012, one in 2008 when he led the race for two days, and one in 2005, his Tour debut, when he held off Lance Armstrong in Courchevel.

Valverde's first Olympic appearance came in 2004, when he finished 47th in the road race. Since then, he has placed 12th in Beijing 2008 (after competing in the Tour, although there was a nearly two-week time gap), 18th in London, and 30th in Rio.

Valverde, who will turn 40 next April, is believed to be considering retirement after the Tokyo Games, but has not made a final decision at this time.