 The strongest favourite for the race victory was Alejandro Valverde ( Movistar Team ) , who was the defending champion and who had also won the race in 2006 . Valverde had shown good form by coming second in the Amstel Gold Race behind Michał Kwiatkowski ( Etixx – Quick @-@ Step ) ; Valverde was expected to have an advantage on the steep climb of the Mur , though Kwiatkowski was still among the favourites for victory . 
