Aketza Pena Positive

Although Madariaga said his b-sample was negative, it seems that Aketza Peña's b-sample did come back positive. The b-sample already came back in August, but it wasn't announced to the Spanish Federation untill now. Aketza is suspended for two years.

Isasi not sure of Tour de France

Sprinter Iñaki Isasi told to DEIA that he was'nt sure of his spot in the Tour de France. Two more riders will get a spot in Euskaltels team but with some other strong contestants like Martiner and Fernandez he have to prove to the team that he is worth a spot. He will try this with a first professional victory, and with the Tour as a goal I think he can succeed in this mission. He also announced his schedule : Murcia - Basque Country - Romandie - Dauphiné.

Down Under 6 : Velasco 19th overall

The last stage hasn't been a succes for Euskaltel. There were no riders in the attack and Aitor Galdos fell, without any injuries, so he couldn't sprint for the victory. The victory went once again to Andre Greipel and of course he also won the General Rank. In that General Rank Ivan Velasco ended on a good 19th place and with Mikel 26th and Jon 27th, Euskaltel took the 5th spot in the teams classification.

Results
1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road 1.51.13 (47.474 km/h)
2 Jan Robert Forster (Ger) Gerolsteiner ST
3 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank ST
...
38. Ivan Velasco ST
41. Mikel Astarloza ST
45. Jon Bru ST
51. Andoni Lafuente ST
52. Javier Aramendia ST
57. Amets Txurruka ST
120. Aitor Galdos +3.35

General Rank
1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road 18.46.18
2 Allan Davis (Aus) Unisa - Australia +0.15
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse D'Epargne +0.33
...
19. Ivan Velasco +0.43
26. Mikel Astarloza +0.43
27. Jon Bru +0.43
44. Amets Txurruka +1.39
85. Andoni Lafuente +7.14
114. Javier Aramendia +16.35
120. Aitor Galdos +20.08

Down Under 5 : Galdos & Lafuente attack

The Euskaltel guys showed theirselves once again in the fifth stage of the Tour Down Under. Today it were Aitor Galdos and Andoni Lafuente in the daily breakaway. Especially from Andoni this was nice, seeing his last year wasn't really great. But sadly enough the break couldn't last. On the last climb a groupe of 40 rode away, among them Velasco, Bru and Astarloza. It became once again a sprint and once again Andre Greipel won. Ivan became 15th, a good result and also Jon ended in the top20, 19th.

Results
1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road 3.26.46
2 Allan Davis (Aus) Unisa - Australia ST
3 Jose Alberto Benitez Roman (Spa) Saunier Duval ST
...
15. Ivan Velasco ST
19. Jon Bru ST
23. Mikel Astarloza ST
53. Amets Txurruka +0.56
82. Andoni Lafuente +2.27
97. Javier Aramendia +11.48
122. Aitor Galdos +11.48

General Rank
1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road 16.55.18
2 Allan Davis (Aus) Unisa - Australia +0.07
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse D'Epargne +0.20
...
19. Ivan Velasco +0.30
29. Mikel Astarloza +0.30
30. Jon Bru +0.30
46. Amets Txurruka +1.26
87. Andoni Lafuente +7.01
116. Aitor Galdos +16.20
118. Javier Aramendia +16.22

Down Under 4 : Javier Aramandia = star

The fourth stage of the Tour Down Under has been won by Andre Greipel, the winner of the second stage. He won in a sprint before Renshaw and Rojas. But the actual star of today was neoprof Javier Aramandie, of course from Euskaltel. He escaped all alone from the peloton and did an amazing job by riding 80 kilometres in front of the others. But unfortunately he didn't survive the last ten kilometres. Also Mikel Astarloza rode in the picture today because he took two points for the general classifications. Aitor Galdos hasn't been in shape this Tour yet, he finished 24th today.

Results
1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road 3.14.46 (41.280 km/h)
2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Credit Agricole ST
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse D'Epargne ST
...
24. Aitor Galdos ST
45. Ivan Velasco ST
49. Amets Txurruka ST
72. Mikel Astarloza ST
78. Javier Aramendia ST
88. Andoni Lafuente ST
106. Jon Bru ST

General Rank
1 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Credit Agricole 13.28.38
2 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road +0.04
3 Allan Davis (Aus) Unisa - Australia +0.07
...
16. Mikel Astarloza +0.23
37. Ivan Velasco +0.24
41. Amets Txurruka +0.24
63. Jon Bru +0.24
98. Aitor Galdos +4.28
102. Javier Aramendia +4.28
111. Andoni Lafuente +4.28

Interview Mikel Astarloza : Down Under

There has been an interview with Mikel Astarloza in Gara about the Tour Down Under, and of course I will try to translate it.

What are your plans for the Tour Down Under ?
The team has the desire to do it well because it's the first race of the season. But i'm going to do it easy, especially with the Tour of the Basque Country in my head. That's the most important race for me and the team in the first part of the season. But the most important thing is to train here.

Who are the leaders of the team here ?
Especially Velasco, Galdos and Bru because they trained for the first part of the season. Let's hope they will do it good because that's really important for the team spirit.

You're the only one who has already competed Down Under ?
Yes, I already rode it four times, this is my fifth. I will try to tell the secrets to my fellow companions.

Which are the characteristics of the Tour Down Under ?
It's very exotic, you're in Australia and it's summer. You leave home in the cold and when you arrive it's really hot, almost forty degrees. You have to try to stay in the shadow as much as possible. The race itselfs doesn't have a lot of secrets, the stages are rather short, 140km, so it's an ideal place to start the season. Clearing the stage is the most important thing for the general rank.

Is it special to return to the race where you've got your only professional victory ?
Yes it's very special and I'm very happy to ride here. I have some great memories about this race.

You also got the victory with Simon Gerrans.
Yes, AG2R always did great here. We won in four of the eight years. Me on time, then Gerrans, Elmiger and Maignan.

Down Under 3 : Euskaltel where ?

It has been a silent day for the Euskaltel riders. The only thing we saw from them is that when the daily break with Sulzberger, Delage and Carlstrom was set, Euskaltel lead the peloton, but not for long. The escapers were caught again and in the sprint Australian/Basque rider Allan Davis won, beating Renshaw and Hayman. Best Euskaltel rider was Ivan Velasco with a 41th place. No Aitor because he was in the second groupe of the peloton 4 minutes down.

Results
1 Allan Davis (Aus) Unisa - Australia 3.13.48
2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Credit Agricole ST
3 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank ST
...
41. Ivan Velasco ST
71. Jon Bru ST
73. Amets Txurruka ST
81. Mikel Astarloza ST
103. Javier Aramendia +4.04
107. Aitor Galdos +4.04
110. Andoni Lafuente +4.04

Down Under 2 : Galdos 21th

The second stage of the Tour Down Under was another very hot race. Early escapers today were Offredo, Crosbie and Poulhies but two laps before the finish they were caught again. Then Javier Aramendia tried to get away with some others, but sadly enough this wasn't possible as it would become a sprint. In that sprint Greipel got the first victory for the new team High Road Sport. Second was Brown and Allan Davis third. Aitor Galdos didn't have a great day and finished 21th. Jon Bru also tried to get some more mountain points but Gilbert overclassed him in the sprints. All the Euskaltel riders came in with the peloton.

Results
1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road 3.46.55
2 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank ST
3 Allan Davis (Aus) Unisa - Australia ST
...
21. Aitor Galdos ST
27. Amets Txurruka ST
35. Ivan Velasco ST
39. Mikel Astarloza ST
50. Jon Bru ST
53. Javier Aramendia ST
115. Andoni Lafuente ST

Down Under 1 : Galdos 16th again

This night the protour season started with the Tour Down Under in Australia. The Euskaltel riders definitely wanted to show themselves because Txurruka tried to get in the break and Jon Bru took 12 points for the mountains classification. But the best Basque was Aitor Galdos who placed himself 16th in the sprint. The sprint was won by Mark Renshaw, before Rojas and Brown. All Euskaltel riders came in with the peloton, even Javier Aramendia who rode his first official race for Euskaltel.

Results
1 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Credit Agricole 3.13.33
2 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse D'Epargne ST
3 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank ST
...
16. Aitor Galdos ST
27. Jon Bru ST
30. Amets Txurruka ST
38. Ivan Velasco ST
57. Mikel Astarloza ST
62. Javier Aramendia ST
92. Andoni Lafuente ST

Javier Aramendia fell

Apparently the weak performance of Javier Aramendia in his first race for Euskaltel was nothing to worry about. He fell during the race and wasn't able to come back as quick as he wanted. But everything is allright and he will definitely start in the Tour Down Under.

Down Under Classic : Galdos 16th

Euskaltel's season has been kicked of with a criterium Down Under, the Down Under Classic. It was a 50km long criterium with 25 laps for both pros and amateurs, but of course onlye the pros were able to compete for the victory.

It was Andre Greipel who took the first victory for the semi-new team High Road. He won it in a sprint with 19 others before Mark Renshaw and Robbie McEwen. Aitor Galdos came in 16th, maybe a bit disappointing but with the hot weather he probably needs to acclimatize a bit more. Javier Aramendia rode his first race witht the profs and wasn't yet used to the speed because he came in second last.


Results
1. Andre Greipel 1.09.20
2. Mark Renshaw ST
3. Robbie McEwen ST
...
16. Aitor Galdos ST
41. Amets Txurruka +0.23
56. Mikel Astarloza +0.31
69. Andoni Lafuente +0.36
97. Jon Bru +1.01
98. Ivan Velasco +1.01
122. Javier Aramendia +

Aitor Hernandez in 2007

2007 has been a good year for Aitor Hernandez and I think Euskaltel believes in him, otherwise they won't let him ride in the Basque Country and the Vuelta. He started his year strong with a 16th and 12th spot in the Valenciana. In the Tour of the Basque Country he made all the basques proud by winning the mountains jersey and with an 11th place in the last stage. He also rode the Giro where he got two 18th places and a 12th place, but after the 11th stage he had to give up. He rode the Vuelta without a great result but of course he helped Samuel and Igor alot. Looking forward to see more of him next year.

Trofeo Mallorca : 75

Trofeo Pollenca : 38

Trofeo Soller : 35

Valenciana : 16-12-49-59-27 => 52

Tirreno : 104-53-124-141-108-80-26 => 98

Sanremo : 113

Basque Country : 63-162-134-91-47-11 => 68

Primavera : 20

Giro : 21-80-126-42-18-12-154-99-39-91-18-X

Ordizia : 49

Burgos : 52-30-91-27-63 => 26

Vuelta : 161-39-105-68-139-160-143-89-32-88-97-125-68-90-114-110-123-107-20-27-46 => 81

Dionisio Galparsoro

Dionisio's year has been one with good results but also with a lot of pain. His season was probably planned around the Giro. He showed this in Rioja where he became 4th in the general ranking. In the Giro he got a great 5th place in the 8th stage but three days later he had to gave up because of a fall. He couldn't get in action anymore untill the summer but he got the opportunity to ride another tour, the Vuelta. There he became 14th in the 5th stage and 15th in the 16th stage and of course he also helped Samuel and Igor alot. He finished his season with a 47th place in Lombardia.

Santarem : 91-39-82-45 => 51
Criterium International : 68-X
Rioja : 14-10-5 => 4
Giro : 21-35-20-23-25-98-96-5-38-48-29-X
Ordizia : 25
Germany : 143-19-38-86-34-85-111-118-40 => 46
Vatenfall : 66
Vuelta : 102-41-48-26-14-72-40-149-30-82-46-61-51-42-137-15-20-142-61-76-73
Lombardia : 47

Murcia line-up

The line-up for the Vuelta a Murcia is already out and it's a strong one. The two leaders will be Samuel Sanchez and Mikel Astarloza. They will be helped by the newbies Josu Agirre and Javier Aramendia and the others Ivan Velasco, Jon Bru, Jorge Azanza and Andoni Lafuente.

Koldo Fernandez in 2007

Koldo Fernandez proved in 2007 that he is the best sprinter within Euskaltel. He had a phenomenal year, he maybe didn't have as much victories as he wanted, but he surely did get some great results. Koldo immediately started the year strong with a 4th place in the Trofeo Mallorca, a 6th place in the Trofeo Calvia and a 5th place in the general rank of the Vuelta a Andalucia. Of course with these results the victory couldn't stay out, and it didn't. In a fantastic sprint he beat all the others and won the last stage in the Tirreno Adriatico. After a second place in the last stage in Rioja he went on to one of his goals : The Giro d'Italia. He showed himself once again with a 5th and 7th spot in a sprint, but it wasn't really what he expected. His last big race of the season was the Vuelta. With 1oth place, two 7th places, two 4th places and a 2nd place he rode a great Vuelta, sadly enough without a victory.

Trofeo Mallorca : 4
Trofeo Millor : 113
Trofeo Calvia : 6
Andalucia : 8-26-8-3-2 => 5
Tirreno : 39-16-49-55-105-131-1 => 84
San Remo : 41
Wevelgem : 68
Roubaix : 81
Rioja : 12-56-2 => 40
Giro : 21-30-29-166-13-177-10-181-5-132-7-156-157-107-126-31-105-12-89-129-15 => 136
Eindhoven TTT : 21
Getxo : 14
Germany : 23-19-178-84-149-5-10-134-13 => 124
Vatenfall : 63
Vuelta : 7-182-159-159-124-2-4-100-166-170-14-11-14-116-141-4-10-106-99-124-7 => 133

Jon Bru in 2007

Jon Bru has had a very busy 2007 but like he said himself, the results were a bit disappointing. His best results were a 16th place in the second stage in Alcobendas and a 20th place in Ordizia. But his peak was in the Tour of Poland. There he became 15th in the general rank, with a good 9th place in the second stage and a 17th place in the fifth and in the last one. Of course Jon is best known for his attacking skills and he has shown that to us this year too. He promissed us some better results last year and even more attacks.

Valenciana : 88-55-66-36-124 => 97
Tirreno : 81-102-39-47-158-X
Primavera : 52
Gold Race : 83
Flecha Wallone : 88
Romandie : 122-151-156-146-X
Alcobendas : 57-16-78 => 59
Catalunya : 22-25-180-69-144-X
Euskal Bizikleta : 121-24-82-45 => 49
Suisse : 156-70-37-43-60-50-120-91-127 => 77
Ordizia : 20
San Sebastian : 97
Germany : 161-19-75-43-42-41-115-148-96 => 47
Vatenfall : 27
Plouay : 38
Poland : 9-9-67-73-17-32-17 => 15

Mikel Astarloza in 2007

It was Mikel Astarloza's first year with Euskaltel and it has been a great one ! He really showed himself as a good stage-race rider. He became 10th in the Vuelta a Valenciana, 18 in the Tour of the Basque Country, 21th in the Tour of Romandie, 7th in the Dauphine Libere and 19th in the Eneco Tour. But of course his best result was in the Tour de France where he became 9th in the general ranking, due to some great time trial work and staying strong in the mountains. He also had some good results in one day races like a 4th place in Llodio and a 6th place in Getxo. A great year, but next year I hope he will be able to get a victory somewhere.

Valenciana : 19-48-30-16-28 => 10
Paris-Nice : 37-53-78-55-54-42-55-46 => 38
Indurain : 44
Basque Country : 25-19-27-25-27-13 => 18
Primavera : 23
Gold Race : 72
Fleche Wallone : 47
Liege-Bastogne-Liege : 38
Romandie : 72-15-100-28-26-33 => 21
Llodio : 4
Dauphine : 20-85-25-42-18-39-6-20 => 7
Tour : 14-96-57-62-93-35-116-21-23-66-25-82-10-12-14-21-54-27-10-41
San Sebastian : 6
Eneco tour : 109-22-65-100-81-95-52-15 => 19

Euskaltel Calender 2008

They finally updated the Euskaltel site and it features the calender of 2008 so here it is :

January : Down Under Classic/Tour Down Under
February : Mallorca/Andalucia/Valenciana
March : Almeria/Murcia/Paris-Nice/Tirreno Adriatico/Castilla y Leon/Criterium International/Llodio
April : Indurain/Flandres/Pais Vasco/Wevelgem/Primavera/Roubaix/Gold Race/Fleche Wallone/Liege Bastogne Liege/Romandie
May : Asturias/Giro/Alcobendas/Catalunya
June : Euskal Bizikleta/Dauphine/Suisse/TTT Eindhoven/Spanish championships
July : Tour de France/Ordizia/Getxo
August : San Sebastian

I don't know if it's a 100% right yet because there is the Giro but no Lombardia. But atleast we get a good view on the next season.

More about 2008

Today the Euskaltel riders told DEIA what their objectives will be in 2008. My fellow Euskaltel blogger made a great post about this that you can check here : http://ibanmayoblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/looking-for-improvement.html

The biggest goals for 2008 will be the Tour de France, the Vuelta, the Vuelta a Pais Vasco, Euskal Bizikleta and the GP Miguel Indurain.

There are already 7 spots taken for the Tour de France : Zubeldia, Sanchez, Astarloza, Verdugo, Txurruka, Ruben Perez and Landaluze are the lucky ones. In my opinion the race for the other two spots will go between Fernandez, Galdos, Martinez or Isasi.

I have two other interviews for you but they are too long to translate. http://click.cyclingfever.com/?jump=3/4949/1167822726-86 about Egoi Martinez and http://click.cyclingfever.com/?jump=3/4948/1167822726-86 about Igor Anton

Interview with Samuel Sanchez

Thanx to a reader I found this interview with Samuel Sanchez here : http://hoysport.laverdad.es/noticias/firmas/el-repecho/samuel_sanchez_vais_pelo_hasta_200801091353.html
It's in spanish so I will try to translate it.

What does the renovation of your contract with Euskaltel for three years do to you ?
It gives me tranquillity. Now I only have to worry about my bike and to keep on growing so the results will follow.

What did Madariaga offer that the other teams didn't ?
Especially on a sport base. We're in a unique project and I could be part of it for another three years. We both also did an economical gesture. But it's not only because of the money, I feel the colors of this equipment like no one else.

But at a certain point, you thought you had to leave ?
It's true that we were a bit distanced but I knew they wanted me and I still had a one year contract. The only other jersey I want to wear now is the one of the world champion or the leader in a big tour.

What did you learn in those 9 years as a pro ?
I tried to copy the veterans. I slept with Ramon Gonzalez Arrieta and I also learned alot from Laiseka and David Etxebarria. That's why I try to help the younger ones now that I'm one of the elderly. But I'm only 29 yet.

What are your objectives for this season ?
I'm going to give myself a 100 % in the Tour de France and if I will try to get at the Olympics.

The Tour de France are big words !
I won't ride the classics, nor will you hear my name in the beginning of the season. I will try to be in best shape in the second week of the Tour, and then I will see my other possibilities. The Tour is the only race that makes me a bit afraid, but I will get from Haimar Zubeldia and Mikel Astarloza, who have a lot of experience.

Interview with Miguel Madariaga

Miguel Madariaga has given an interview to the Noticias de Gipuzkoa today and he said some pretty interesting things, here's a lin-up.

Euskaltel won't ride the Giro as long as the Giro expects them to send one of their 4 best riders (Samuel, Haimar, Igor, Mikel ?). Those four have to prepare for the Tour/Vuelta so they can't race there. Butwe have some young talent that can shine there.

Once again he said that Euskaltel will ride less races and that they won't go to Portugal. He also said that they don't dare to skip a protour race because they are afraid of the UCI.

The reason why there are only 26 riders this year is that the Protour and biological passport had alot of influence on the budget so they had to do something.

He made an offer to Garate and Patxi Vila, both they both prefered staying with their team

He feels really sorry for Iban Iriondo that he couldn't stay in the team, but he believes in him and is sure that he can grow. The same for Uribarri but he requested to stay with Orbea and they have given him that chance.

Aketza Peña's B-sample was negative but he doesn't know anything more because his representative keeps it private

http://www.noticiasdegipuzkoa.com/ediciones/2008/01/10/deportes/ciclismo/d10cic58.880999.php

Samuel till 2008 !!!

Samuel Sanchez and Euskaltel finally came to an agreement. Samuel will stay until 2010 with Euskaltel. He said he can't imagine a life without the orange jersey and feels very happy, confident and respected in the team. He also said again that he will ride the Tour and hope for the best at the olympics in Beijing.

Euskaltel not good for Garate ?

Basque rider Juan Manuel Garate said in an interview that he got an offer from Euskaltel this season. Garate turned them down because he didn't agree with Madariaga and thought they weren't interested enough. Ok, I don't think it's smart from Euskaltel that they did a bid on him for less money than quickstep and for only one yea, but he could do something for his home country imo. So no Garate with Euskaltel this year, but I'm sure they will do great without him.

Andoni Aranaga in 2007 : Fired :(

For Andoni Aranaga it hasn't been a very good year either. His best result of the year was a 32th place in the first stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, and that's not good at all. I think he also had some other problems because he had to give up four times in a stage race this year. Probably Euskaltel wasn't happy either because sadly enough he was one of the fired riders. As far as I know I didn't have any news about him in 2008 but I hope he will get a spot somewhere.

Trofeo Mallorca : 43
Trofeo Millor : 109
Trofeo Pollenca : 135
Andalucia : 56-45-39-35-53 => 49
Paris-Nice : 42-95-73-79-125-136-118-72 => 76
Castilla y Leon : 32-122-120-116-X
Rioja : 85-89-54 => 78
Asturias : 103-47-106-66-X
Catalunya : 22-179-181-174-161-160-166 => 166
Suisse : 55-165-157-X
Eindhoven Time Trial : 21
Getxo : 38
Poland : 9-114-122-37-110-126-X

Lander Aperribay in 2007

This is going to be a short review because Lander Aperribay's season wasn't really a good one. Of course I know that he was a neo-prof this year, but not a single top 30 individual rank, that's not ok. He probably had to sacrifice himself a lot for the team. I hope we will get to see a bit more of him next year otherwise I don't see a long Euskaltel career for him :(

Almeria : 60
Marcia : 97-66-71-47 => 95
Santarem : 60-65-83-58 => 52
Primavera : 74
Giro d'Oro : 42
Trentino : 107-124-64-117 => 101
Asturias : 63-117-54-36-37 => 60
Alcobendas : 63-68-56 => 62
Paredes : 99-96-111-89 => 100
Llodio : 67
Euskal Bizikleta : 78-39-46-46 => 45
Getxo : 87
Burgos : 109-74-74-101-70 => 78
Poland : 9-140-136-81-139-127-X

Igor Anton in 2007

For Igor Anton 2007 was another great year. He started his good results in Castilla y Leon where he finished fourth overall with a 5th and 6th place in the last stages. Then he became 9th in the GP Indurain and 8th in the Klasika Primavera. In Romandia he got his only victory of the year in a sprint with Thomas Dekker, I remember this very well because the flemish tv stopped playing because of the news and I had to switch and watch the final kilometre on cycling.tv . He became second in Paredes and he became 3th on the mythical Mont Ventoux in the Dauphine Libere but in the Tour de France he couldn't shine, he had to give up with some problems. Due to the bad Tour he had to make it good in the Vuelta and so he did. He helped Samuel in a great way and finished 8th in the general rank. He ended his season strong in Lombardia with a 12th spot.

Almeria : 57
Marcia : 95-55-14-78 => 79
Castilla y Leon : 21-10-16-5-6 => 4
Indurain : 9
Primavera : 8
Rioja : 49-13-27 => 13
Romandia : 55-29-18-25-1-41 => 7
Paredes : 66-53-2-3 => 2
Dauphine : 59-55-56-132-3-116-20-28 => 37
Tour : 118-132-162-175-62-79-139-70-142-140-X
Burgos : 18-28-110-63-85 => 27
Vuelta : 66-53-21-18-65-114-39-70-15-8-63-39-65-31-4-51-65-11-5-21-49 => 8
Paris-Tours : 41
Lombardia : 12

Beñat Albizuri in 2007

Beñat Albizuri has had a pretty good 2007. He started his year good with a 19th place in the Trofeo Soller and a 25th place in the first stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia. Then he reached his lowest point of the season, because he had to give up three times in a row, in the Criterium International, the Giro de Trentino and the big Giro. Despite the fact that he had to give up in the Giro because of medical problems, he still got a good 24th place in the 6th stage. But after some time he came back strong and got a row of good results : 27th in Llodio, 5th in the second stage of the Euskal Bizikleta, 10th in Getxo and 22th in the 5th stage of the Eneco toyr. He finished his season in Plouay with a 37th place.

Trofeo Mallorca : 30
Trofeo Millor : 29
Trofeo Pollenca : 94
Trofeo Soller : 19
Trofeo Calvia : 159
Andalucia : 25-67-69-28-85 => 80
Tirreno : 80-51-82-64-140-57-74 => 57
San Remo : 81
Criterium International : 129 - X
Trentino : 115-123-X
Giro : 21-185-81-102-110-24-184-X
Llodio : 27
Euskal Bizkleta : 82-5-32-48 => 44
Suisse : 124-152-159-152-X
Getxo : 10
Eneco Tour : 73-54-76-42-22-33-29-109 => 44
Plouay : 37

Team picture 2008 !!!

Finally the new team picture has arrived !! I'm not going to gossip about who looks good and who doesn't, but I must say that Haimar looks good on it this time. The stairs are cool, but nothing can top the Guggenheim in Bilbao from last year. Here's the link for the bigger picture ; http://www.fundacioneuskadi.com/documentos/noticias/200813203227_cas_euskaltel-euskadi-081.jpg