Prosecutors in Spain are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for a man who reportedly struck Alejandro Valverde with his car in July 2022.
According to the prosecution, the man, who is a retired Civil Guard officer, had a confrontation with the then Movistar cyclist and his training partner, and then drove into them. The prosecution accuses the man of two counts of attempted homicide and one count of reckless driving, and has asked for a combined prison sentence of 15 years and three months.
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The case relates to an incident that took place in Alcantarilla, Spain on 2 July 2022. Valverde, then 42 years old, was taken to hospital, but suffered “no fractures or serious injuries”, his Movistar team confirmed at the time.
“Luckily everything has been a scare and I’m fine,” the 2018 road world champion posted on social media. He did not return to racing for four weeks.
Further reporting, this time in El Español, recounted more details of the incident, saying the then 69-year-old retired Civil Guard officer overtook Valvedre and his training partner without giving them the legally required 1.5m safety distance; once confronted by the cyclists, he then braked and reversed into them.
In 2022, the defendant denied this account in court – “I never reversed. As I left, I may have grazed two bicycles, but I never hit a person,” he said – and was released on bail pending further investigation.
At the hearing this week, the defendant’s lawyer, Eduardo Romera, told Spanish news agency Efe that he denied accusations of attempted homicide. Romera added that he hopes to reach a settlement soon between the parties.
Valverde’s training partner took 412 days to recover from his injuries, the prosecution said this week. He also suffered no fractures.
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