Valverde returned for the Vuelta a España where was supposed to work for Quintana. He won stage 2 in an uphill sprint and stage 8 in a reduced bunch sprint, beating then World Champion Peter Sagan in the latter. He maintained a high position in the general classification until the last weekend and still had a chance of overall victory. He struggled in the last two stages in Andorra and only managed to finish 5th, but won the points classification for a record-equalling fourth time. Valverde won the gold medal at the UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, in his twelfth participation. He triumphed in a small group sprint at the finish line ahead of Romain Bardet, Michael Woods and Tom Dumoulin, becoming the second oldest Road World Champion in history after Joop Zoetemelk. An emotional Valverde called this his biggest ever victory and one he has chased for 15 years. Valverde took his first major result of 2019 when he finished second overall to Ion Izagirre in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. He then finished second again, this time to Luis León Sánchez, at the Vuelta a Murcia. At the 2019 UAE Tour, Valverde took his first victory as World Champion by winning the sprint at the summit finish of stage 3. He would go on to finish the race in second place overall. During the spring classics, Valverde rode the Tour of Flanders, his first participation in the monument. He finished the race in eighth place. Valverde endured a difficult end to his spring campaign. At the Flèche Wallonne, he swallowed a bee during the race and eventually finished 11th. A crash in the leadup to Liège–Bastogne–Liège resulted in a bone edema. Valverde started the race, not knowing of the severity of his injury, and then abandoned during the event, the first time he had not finished. After recovering from his injuries, he returned to racing at the Route d'Occitanie, which he won. On 30 June, he won the Spanish National Road Race Championships for the third time in his career. At the Tour de France, he finished ninth overall. At the Vuelta a España, Valverde took victory at stage 7 of the race, a summit finish at Mas de la Costa. He would eventually finish the Vuelta in second place overall, 2:16 minutes behind Primož Roglič.