Friday, October 26, 2007

Euskaltel update

I thought I'd better update you all on what's been going on with Euskaltel the last few days. Most of the attention has been on Iban the last days, but I guess that's not really strange. Not much has happened to be honest, it's been a quiet off-season so far, but not all riders are on vacation just yet. Igor, Rubén, Mikel, Sports Director Gorka Gerrikagoitia and Fundación Euskadi head Miguel Madariaga were all present at the unveiling of the 2008 Tour de France parcours in Paris yesterday. All three riders started the race this year, and will likely do so again next year I think. In other news, Euskaltel have got their first ever amateur side. Naturgas Energia is the name of the new-born team. The formation, which will be up and running as from the new year, will be made up of riders aged 23 or less. The team wil be headed by Alexander Díaz, and will do Elite-sub 23 races all over Spain. The outfit will be a stepping-stone for young, talented Basque riders, who may take the step up to Orbea, before hopefully getting a contract with Euskaltel. Approximately 80 % of the spots on the team will be taken by riders from the Basque region of Álava. The rest will go to Basque riders from other regions. Álavan pro cyclists have gone missing the last few years, but this initiative will hopefully see more riders from the region make it pro.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Euskaltel is the best ProTourteam in terms of stimulating young talent from own country / region. Other teams only think of winning, Euskaltel thinks also of giving somebody a chance. Great to read that they are doing more and more for young cyclists!

Magnus said...

Certainly. After they took Galdeano on bord, the mentality has changed quite a bit. It's not so much the big stars they're going for anymore, it's more the young and talented ones. It's a great way of going about things, and Basque cycling seems to be in for one hell of a future.

 

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