"I've got nothing that I need to confess"

Spain's Alejandro Valverde says he is determined to put a two-year doping ban behind him, setting his sights on podium places in the busy upcoming cycling season.

Former Vuelta a España champion Valverde has already notched up a convincing win in the only hilltop finish of January's Tour Down Under in Australia. On January 21, he claimed an emotional Tour Down Under stage five victory by the narrowest of margins over local favorite Simon Gerrans. "It's going to be a busy year," Valverde said last week after returning to Spain.

The 31-year-old is competing in the Mallorca Challenge, the five-day event that kicks off the European cycling season, which began on Sunday. Then comes the Paris-Nice race in March: he has twice won the oldest and arguably the hardest of these one-day events, the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and is a previous winner of the Fleche Wallonne.

"First off there's Paris-Nice, then the one-day classics. It won't be easy. Philippe Gilbert is very strong, he's a real force to be reckoned with and showed that throughout last year. I hope I will be up to standard this year," Valverde said.

Belgian Gilbert became only the second rider in history to win all three one-day classics in a single year, in 2011, but Valverde is a two-time winner at Liege, in 2006 and 2008, and has also won the Fleche Wallonne.

"After that it's the Tour de France, although I haven't singled out any stages. Then there's the Olympics."

With the London Olympics road race destined for sprinters, such as reigning world champion Mark Cavendish, riders of Valverde's ilk will have their chances on a hilly world championships course in the Netherlands this September.

He added: "After that, of course, I'd like to do the Vuelta a España and coming off, I'd be looking to do the world championships. The course suits me well."

Banned for his implication in the Operation Puerto affair that initially erupted in May 2006, Valverde was dealt a further blow when the cycling authorities annulled all his victories from 2010. Having claimed his innocence in the past, Valverde refuses to discuss the details of his ban, which was pursued by the Italian Olympic Committee, which unilaterally banned the rider from competing in the country from 2009 to 2011, the International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency. Instead, he wants to look to the future.

Valverde will lead the Movistar team this season along with reigning Vuelta a España champion Juan Jose Cobo.

"I have nothing to confess. I was sanctioned, and I have served out the ban. I regret nothing. I have always lived life to the full; I have nothing to reproach myself over. I am not going to talk about the blood bags, if you look at the facts of the case you will see what really happened," he said.

"Of course there were ups and downs but overall it went well, inasmuch as you can endure a period like that well," he added. "I've served my ban. All I want to do is look to the future. People can judge whether I'm innocent or not. I'm relaxed in my mind, and I'm happy.

"I worked really hard to come back to the top level. My first victory [in Australia] after that enforced stoppage was very important, and very emotional for me. It was reward for a year and a half of hard work, and a lot of sacrifices in training.

"The one-day classics will help me a little as preparation for my main target, the Tour de France," said Valverde, who used to ride for Caisse d'Epargne, the Movistar team's forebearer, and who trained with it during his ban. "I am still lacking a little in stamina even if I have been training really hard."