Euskaltel-Euskadi

Disappointing start in Italy

2011-05-08T10:39:00.002+02:00

"Euskaltel-Euskadi started off the race without any incidents", that's the only thing you can read at Euskaltel's official website today, and well... there's not much more to say about the first stage and team time trial of the Giro d'Italia. Euskaltel finished totally last and leader Igor Anton already suffered big losses to the other contenders for the maglia rosa. Javier Aramendia and Pierre Cazaux weren't even able to follow the pace and finished alone 3 or 4 minutes later than the winning team HTC. Hopefully tomorrow will bring something fun to write about!

Castroviejo on a roll

2011-05-07T16:40:00.003+02:00

Jonathan Castroviejo clearly gained a lot of confidence by winning the prologue of the Tour of Romandy, because he did the same thing in the opening time-trial of the Vuelta a Madrid. "Despite the rain," Castroviejo told afterwards "I was really motivated and knew I could win if I did my best." He wasn't the only one from Euskaltel, 3 other guys ended in the top 20 with Jon Izaguirre at 7, his brother Gorka at 11 and Amets Txurruka at 16.

Jonathan Castroviejo 10:11
Rui Costa (Movistar) +0:11
Stefan Schumacher (Miche) +0:12

7. Jon Izaguirre +0:22
11. Gorka Izaguirre +0:26
16. Amets Txurruka +0:33
44. Alan Perez +0:57
54. Koldo Fernandez +1:03
69. Mikel Landa +1:13

It's Giro time!

2011-05-07T15:47:00.003+02:00

The Giro d'Italia 2011 is about to start in the beautiful city of Torino and it promises to become an exciting one with lots of potential winners and interesting other names. Euskaltel will mainly be represtend by Igor Anton who will definitely want to prove that he can finish a big stage race with a good end classification after last year's Vuelta. He will be helped by Mikel Nieve, Daniel Sesma, Miguel Minguez, Iñaki Isasi, Pierre Cazaux, Javier Aramendia, Jorge Azanza and Juanjo Oroz. Good luck guys!

Izagirre strong in Asturias

2011-04-30T13:56:00.002+02:00

In the Vuelta a Asturias Gorka Izagirre is proving himself to be a good small stage race rider. The morning stage of only 82 kilometres ended in a sprint with Euskaltel doing a good job in it with 4 riders in the top 20: Ruben at 6, Iñaki at 13, Javier at 17 and Gorka at 19. All this was preceeded by Juanjo Oroz putting the team in a comfortable seat during the stage as he was in the early break of the day. The second stage of the day was a 14 kilometres time trial, not Euskaltel's favourite subject, but with a 13th spot Gorka Izagirre defended the honour of the team well, with a nice 10th spot overall at the moment. Unfortunately Pierre Cazaux didn't start in the time trial, for reasons unknown at the moment.

Stage 2a

Robert Förster (UnitedHealthCare) 2:06:01
Sergey Shilov (Russian Fed) ST
Manuel Anton (Burgos 2016) ST

6. Ruben Perz ST
13. Iñaki Isasi ST
17. Javier Aramendia ST
19. Gorka Izagirre ST
22. Pablo Urtasun ST
44. Juanjo Oroz ST
48. Pierre Cazaux ST
64. Daniel Sesma

Stage 2b

Stefan Schumacher (Miche) 17:27
José Ivan Gutierrez (Movistar) +00:04
Rory Sutherland (UnitedHealthCare) +00:08

13. Gorka Izagirre +00:40
34. Juanjo Oroz +01:06
38. Iñaki Isasi +01:14
40. Pablo Urtasun +01:17
54. Daniel Sesma +01:28
59. Ruben Perez +01:33
95. Javier Aramendia +02:27

Isasi sprints in Asturias

2011-04-29T10:46:00.003+02:00

The first stage in the Vuelta a Asturias ended in a bunch sprint and for Euskaltel, it wasn't Ruben Perez who sprinted along, but good old Iñaki Isasi and Gorka Izagirre. They both placed themselves in the top 10, on spot 7 and 10 respectively, in a sprint that was won by Stefan Schumacher. A good start if you ask me, but I'd like to see a bit more from the guys in the upcoming stages!

Stefan Schumacher (Miche) 3:46:35
Constantino Zaballa (Miche) ST
David Gutierrez (Geox) ST

7. Iñaki Isasi ST
10. Gorka Izagirre ST
34. Juanjo Oroz +00:36
40. Ruben Perez +01:23
43. Javier Aramendia +01:23
49. Pierre Cazaux +01:23
75. Pablo Urtasun +08:19
76. Daniel Sesma +08:19

Verdugo on a roll in Romandy

2011-04-28T21:30:00.003+02:00

After the surprising victory of Castroviejo in the prologue, Euskaltel had to settle for a little bit less in the next two hilly stages through the Swiss countryside. Stage one saw an early break make it to the finish with Pavel Brutt as the eventual winner, and although Euskaltel took some shifts to lead the peloton, they never looked that dedicated to defend Jonathan's leader jersey. On the steep climb at the end, Gorka Verdugo was able to follow strong climbers such as Evans, Cunego and Vinokourov to obtain a place in the top 10 of the general ranking. Castroviejo wasn't able to maintain his place there and fell back to 31th overall.

In the second stage, we once again got to see a strong Gorka that was in the group that battled it out for the stage victory, with Damiano Cunego taking it, and with this good result he became fifth overall. Another member of the team coloured the race today as a strong Egoi Martinez was part of the early break that wasn't able to stay away, but he got some points for the mountains classification.

Asturias line-up

2011-04-27T17:56:00.002+02:00

Tomorrow the Vuelta a Asturias will take off in Oviedo without homeground favourite Samuel Sanchez, as he is taking some time off after his exhausting classics campaign. Euskaltel will mainly be represented by Ruben Perez & Pablo Urtasun,who will try to grab a victory in the sprints, joined by Gorka Izaguirre and the ones who are preparing the upcoming Giro d'Italia: Javier Aramendia, Daniel Sesma, Pierre Cazaux, Iñaki Isasi and Juanjo Oroz. The Vuelta a Asturias will start in beautiful Oviedo and end after five days on the Alto al Naranco.

Castroviejo amazes and wins Romandy prologue!

2011-04-27T15:04:00.004+02:00

Immediate succes for Euskaltel in the Tour of Romandy. Jonathan Castroviejo amazed everyone with a thrilling performance over the 3.5 kilometres long track and winning the prologue by beating a bunch of time-trial specialists like Millar, Phinney and Hoard, and of course taking the first leader's jersey. He wasn't the only one who did a good job though, Gorka Verdugo placed himself just outside the top 10 on spot 11. I'm excited to see what those two can do for the general classification during the next week!

After the race Jonathan Castroviejo declared: "It's a beautiful victory and I'm very very happy with it. Tomorrow is my birthday, so this is a spectacular gift. I used to start in time-trials with the idea to do my best, but know I know I can start with my mind set on winning. I always felt good riding time-trials, but winning a big one like here in the Tour of Romandy is something great. I finally did it and this changes my view on all of this."

Jonathan Castroviejo 3:40.42
Taylor Phinney (BMC) +0.27
Leigh Howard (HTC) +0.73

11. Gorka Verdugo +4.29
31. Iñaki Isasi +8.71
59. Egoi Martinez +11.50
70. Alan Perez +12.56
130. Ivan Velasco +19.38
134. Amets Txurruka +20.75

Tour of Romandy Line-Up

2011-04-26T11:49:00.003+02:00

Now that the important classics are over, it's time for the real deal, the stage tours! After an absence of two years, Euskaltel will finally send a team to the Giro d'Italia again and to start the preparations off, they will ride the Tour of Romandy. Unfortunately both Anton, who will be the team leader in the Giro, and Sanchez will not participate since they are on a break after their good work in the classics. Euskaltel will send a team that will be on the attack and will try to get Koldo Fernandez in position for the sprint, if he's already up for that again. The Tour of Romandy starts today with a 3.5 kilometers long prologue.

141. Jonathan Castroviejo
142. Iñaki Isasi
143. Amets Txurruka
144. Ivan Velasco
145. Egoi Martinez
146. Gorka Verdugo
147. Alan Perez
148. Koldo Fernandez

Koldo 5th in Trofeo Cala Millor

2010-02-08T22:13:00.003+01:00

In the second part of the Mallorca Challenge, the Trofeo Cala Millor, Koldo wasn't able to do the same as yesterday, but placed himself fifth in the sprint, just like last year. This time it was Freire who took the victory home. It also became clear that Igor Anton isn't in great shape yet as he finished two minutes and thirty seconds behind the peloton. Of course he has still some time left before his big races.

1. Oscar Freire RAB 4:14:21
2. André Greipel COL ST
3. Manuel Cardoso FOO ST
...
5. Koldo Fernandez ST
34. Aitor Galdos ST
55. Iñaki Isasi ST
79. Sergio De Lis ST
80. Ivan Velasco ST
121. Alan Pérez ST
125. Gorka Verdugo ST
139. Rubén Pérez +0:22
161. Igor Anton +2:30

Koldo opens season 2nd

2010-02-07T23:20:00.003+01:00

February has just begun and that means that also the Spanish cycling season has been opened with the Trfeo Palma. All went well for the Euskaltel squad because just like the other years it turned out to become a sprint and Koldo Fernandez was feeling well, but just like the other years he wasn't able to get the victory. Robbie McEwen did, but Koldo came close with a great second spot, his best performance after his 4th place in 2007. After the race Koldo said that he was happy ending 2nd in his first race of the season, but of course he would have loved to win. This shows that he has been training well and he was only beaten by McEwen who already rode this year in Australia. It's also about having luck, but he just felt good during the race and that brings hope for the upcoming races.

1. Robbie McEwen KAT 2:21:16
2. Koldo Fernandez EUS ST
3. Oscar Freire RAB ST
...
23. Iñaki Isasi ST
34. Rubén Pérez ST
49. Jorge Azanza ST
92. Ivan Velasco ST
102. Mikel Nieve +0:07
138. Sergio de Lis +0:11
142. Gorka Verdugo +0:11
150. Alan Pérez +0:11
184. Juan José Oroz +0:19

Romain Sicard's schedule

2010-01-31T14:02:00.002+01:00

Euskaltel has released Romain Sicard's schedule for the first part of the season. It's clear that they want to show off with their new promising rider cause they are letting him ride some big races!

Tour du Haut Var
Paris-Nice
Gent-Wevelgem
Three days of de Panne
Tour of Flandres
Paris-Roubaix
Gran Premio Llodio
Vuelta a Rioja
Vuelta de Asturias
Tour de Picardie
Bayern Rundfahrt
Dauphiné Liberé
France national championships

A nice schedule for a first year! Hopefully he can show his talent somewhere and I would like to see what will be next. Vuelta? Tour already? That would probably to early but you never know... Unfortunately he suffers from a stomach flu at the moment, hopefully he will recover soon!

Sánchez: My intention is to stay with Euskaltel

2010-01-30T10:33:00.002+01:00

For another year Samuel Sánchez will be leader of Euskaltel-Euskadi. The 32-year old 'Asturiano' has two clear objectives, the Tour of the Basque Country and the Tour de France, where he wants to win a stage and ameliorate his 7th place of 2008. Samuel Sánchez answered these questions in the Euskaltel training camp in Derio from Biciciclismo.

How is the preseason and winter going?
The most important thing is that everything is going well, without any injuries like last year when I had one at my left knee. My health is good and that's the most important for a sporter.
How are you looking towards the new year?
It will be a special year cause the sponsor will quit after this one so everyone will to their best to get a new one next year. It's important to know whether the team will continue or quit after this year so we have to look out for something new.
Do you expect extra pressure?
No, personally I'm calm and focussed on my preparation. It's an extra motivation. There's no need to get nervous about the team continuing or not. I'm focussing more on training and getting the best out of the races.
Do you have the intention to stay with Euskaltel-Euskadi?
My intention is certain. I don't know how the direction thinks about it, but I feel part of the team, part of the schedule of Miguel Madariaga. I would love to continue here.
You've also said that you wanted to end your carreer in this team.
Yes, I've said that and I stick with it: I would love to end my carreer with Euskaltel-Euskadi. Although I don't want to close other doors because the carreer of a cyclist is short and you'll have to get the maximum out of it.
What are objectives for this year?
The first objective is being 100% in the Tour of the Basque Country, but I already want to show myself in Paris-Nice and the Criterium International and that way getting a good condition for the Basque Country.
And what do you think about the Tour de France?
We have to keep our feet on the ground and I'm a bit reluctant to it myself, but the main objective is to do better than in 2008. The ideal is finishing on the podium, but I have to be realistic cause you have Contador and other strong contenders.
How do you look back on the Tour 2008?
Good and satisfied. I lost time on the Hautacam and the Tourmalet, just like Valverde, and that whitholded me from obtaining a better spot in the general rank.
The Vuelta has been dismissed?
Nothing is certain, we'll have to see that during the season. The Vuelta has an attractive parcours with stages in the Asturias where I live. And the Vuelta is my race, where I finished two time on the podium and won several stages. Just like the Tour of the Basque Country, I want to win it.
The last Vuelta, you lost time in the stage with Xorret de Cati.
That was due to a fall in the stage before, I felt really bad but that's cycling! Valverde was the deserved winner cause he made the least mistakes.
You feel good with Euskaltel-Euskadi?
It's like Athletico Bilbao in soccer, they only choose players from their own region. Other teams have a lot of cyclists to pick from but we're limited. In the Tour de France you need cyclists with experience and the parcours is looking good, there is no team time trial which is good for us. Especially the last week we'll be beautiful with the Pyrenees and the last time trial.
How is the Asturian cycling going?
There is not a lot of new talent, maybe Higionio Fernández with Caja Rural. We have Checu, Noval, Barredo, Navarro, Santí Perez, Sobrino, Santamarta, Antuña and me, but there's nothing after us. We hope that Alonso will take care of this with his new team.
What is certain about Alonso's team?
It's not an invention. He's really planning on starting a team, but what he's real intention are, I don't know yet. But it would be good for Spain to have another team with a good schedule.
Would you like to participate in the World Championships in Melbourne?
It's still far away and a lot of things can happen this season. It's not the ideal parcours for guys like me and Valverde, it's probably a better chance for Freire and I will be happy to help him with that.

The new guys in orange!

2010-01-01T17:10:00.004+01:00

First of all Happy New Year to all Euskaltel fans! May this year be the one where Euskaltel will dominate the world and everything will turn orange! As a present Euskaltel released the official pictures of the new guys in their new jerseys and I have to say, they look good in it. The guys in the right order are: Castroviejo, Sesma, Mínguez, Sicard, Izagirre and Intxaust.

Newbies will open year Down Under

2009-12-27T16:21:00.003+01:00

Only 22 days to go and the real cycling fans can finally come out of their winter sleep and enjoy professional cycling again. Just like recent years, the 2010 season will take of in the hot and beautiful country of Australia. And Euskaltel immediately has a new year's present for its fans, we will get to see all the newbies in action! The one to watch will of course be Romain Sicard, who will ride his first ProTour race as a World Champion. He will be joined by Jonathan Castroviejo, Jon Izaguirre, Miguel Minguez and Daniel Sesma, who will also defend the orange colours for the first time. Young and promising Mikel Nieve will also be present and the most experienced will be Ivan Velasco with his 4th year riding with Euskaltel. I can't wait for the season to start at 19 january!

Iban Mayoz to Fuji

2009-11-24T15:28:00.003+01:00

Like Haimar Zubeldia, another ex-rider from Euskaltel found a new team for 2010. Iban Mayoz rode two years for Xacobeo-Galicia but will represent the colours of the 'haunted' team Footon-Servetto next year.

Haimar to Team RadioShack

2009-11-24T15:25:00.004+01:00

Just like with Alberto Contador, there were some troubles with the transfer to another team for ex-Euskaltel rider Haimar Zubeldia, but as was said during the Tour de France already, Haimar will follow Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and others to the new ProTour team lead by Johan Bruyneel. Haimar said to Biciciclismo that being in a team with Johan Bruyneel was the ultimate reason for him since he had always admired Bruyneel's skills of directing a team.

Ivan Velasco: 'It has been a tough year'

2009-11-02T20:46:00.003+01:00

-What has been the best moment of the season?
The truth is that I haven't got much luck this year with injuries and diseases, but although I wasn't yet at top level, I was very pleased with the Tour of Switzerland.
-What would you like to remember and forget about this year on personal level?
Personally it has been a hard year. I have learned a lot on psychological level, especially to become better after a hard period, that would I like to remember. I would forget the fracture of three ribs I had during the Vuelta a la Rioja and the training in July.
-Facing 2010, what are your hopes?
For 2010, the only thing I hope to do is to show my top level, which I haven't been able to this year.

Beñat Intxausti WILL come to Euskaltel!

2009-10-28T17:00:00.003+01:00

It was anounced today that Beñat Intxausti will ride for Euskaltel-Euskadi in 2010. Apparently there is an agreement between the basque rider and his former team boss Mauro Gianetti. Beñat already mentioned that he's happy to finally ride for his own 'tierra', but what will happen with Jorge Azanza. He was the one who got in the team because Beñat didn't, but what will happen with him now? We will find out soon probably...

3 questions for Alan Pérez

2009-10-27T10:31:00.003+01:00

Euskaltel asked the same three questions to Alan Pérez, here is what he answered.

-What was the best moment of the season?
The Tour de France and the Vuelta. In both races the team shone and obtained some great results. Personally I didn't have a lot of luck, but I was happy to contribute my part to those achievements.
-What do you want to remember and forget on personal level?
I will remember that I got the chance to participate in the Tour the France, the race that looked the hardest of the whole season to me, but I loved it. I would like to forget the several falls and injuries I had during important parts of my season.
-Facing 2010, what are your intentions?
To do the same for the team as I did this year and to grow as a cyclist. If I have some luck and great form, I would like to take maximum advantage of that.

3 questions for Jorge Azanza

2009-10-21T21:44:00.002+02:00

It was a close call for Jorge Azanza, but due to the fact that Beñat Intxausti unfortunately won't come to Euskaltel next year because of troubles with his team Fuji, he got a place in the team for 2010. Euskaltel gave him three questions and this is what he answered:

- What was the best moment of the season?
In the beginning of the season I felt great and I was present in a lot of escapes unfortunately I couldn't win anything. I felt good until the Vuelta a Burgos.
-What do you want to remember and forget on personal level?
It hasn't been a great year for me on personal level, but I look at the future with a good feeling. I noticed this year that I can do good in a lot of stages and I can fight for the victory. I would like to forget the physical problems I had after the Vuelta a Burgos.
-What are your intentions for 2010?
I hope to stay healthy and that my talent will show in some races.

Sammy splendid in Lombardy

2009-10-18T10:28:00.004+02:00

The season is almost over, the leaves are falling from the trees, the sprinters already put an end to their season and that's when you get one of the most beautiful races of the season, the Tour of Lombardy. And just like the last two years, Samuel Sanchez made clear that this was a race for him. He stayed with the favourites until the top favourite Philippe Gilbert got away on the last climb. That was the sign for Samuel to go too and he rode without too much difficulty to the belgian. The two of them rode to the finish but at the end it was unfortunately Philippe Gilbert who had the fastest sprint and won, but at least we saw that Sammy was still in great condition and could have won this race, maybe next year!

Samuel said after his race: I went away with probably the best man in the field, Philippe Gilbert. He is able to beat real sprinters like he did with Tom Boonen in Paris-Tours. He is in top form and I'm getting a little bit tired after an exhausting Vuelta d'España. Overall I'm very happy with this season because I showed consistency and I showed a great level of racing. Now I can get a little bit of rest and prepare for 2010!

Results
1. Philippe Gilbert SILENCE 5:43:45
2. SAMUEL SANCHEZ ST
3. Alexandr Kolobnex SAXO BANK +0:07
...
54. Ivan Velasco +2:53
71. Javier Aramendia +4:04
83. Aitor Hernandez +6:02
96. Iñaki Isasi +8:00

Euskaltel in 2010

2009-10-08T16:48:00.003+02:00

Up till now Euskaltel has 23 riders contracted for 2010. Here's an overview:

Stayers (17): Anton, Aramendia, De Lis, Fernandez, Galdos, Hernandez, Isasi, Martinez, Nieve, Oroz, Pérez, Pérez, Sanchez, Txurruka, Urtasun, Velasco and Verdugo

Newbies (6): Jonathan Castroviejo, Daniel Sesma, Miguel Mínguez and Romain Sicard(Orbea), Gorka Izagirre (Contentpolis) and Beñat Intxausti (Fuji)

Insecure (3): Josu Agirre, Jorge Azanza and Andoni Lafuente

Fired (3): Iñigo Landaluze, Markel Irizar and Mikel Astarloza

Sammy in Paris-Tours

2009-10-08T16:42:00.002+02:00

Samuel Sanchez will lead the orange Euskaltel squad in the upcoming french race Paris-Tours. He will be assisted by Aitor Galdos, Iñaki Isasi, Ivan Velasco, Markel Irizar, Aitor Hernandez, Jorge Azanza and Javier Aramendia. Last year Samuel Sanchez was the best of the Euskaltel guys on a 28th place.

Rubén Pérez: 'Next year I want to win a stage'

2009-10-08T16:32:00.002+02:00

Biciciclismo had a little interview with Rubén Pérez and here is what he said:
-Which has been the best moment of the season?
Definitely the races in Murcia and Castilla y Leon. I saw that winning a stage was possible and it gave me a lot of strength. Sometimes I was in a better shape but then the speed somehow went away.
-On personal level, what do you want to remember and what do you want to forget about 2009?
I will remember a lot of good moments, all the stages where I was satisfied to fulfill my job, even though I didn't get a victory or came in the public spotlights. Those days you are happy because you can do your work every day. I would want to forget the moment when I became ill in April, but that's part of the job.
-What are your intentions for 2010?
Most of all I want to make that extra step and win a race. Next to that I want to keep progressing and keep on racing.

Markel Irizar to Radio Shack?

2009-10-06T09:29:00.002+02:00

According to the Diario Vasco and Biciciclismo Markel Irizar will ride for the new Lance Armstrong team, Radio Shack, next year. Of course we all know that Lance Armstrong and Markel Irizar since they both survived testicle cancer (if I'm not mistaken) and that during Markel's recovery Lance sent a message to support him. Of course he will also meet Haimar Zubeldia again because he's following Lance too! In my opinion this could help Markel to improve his time trialling skills even more!

No gloria en el Tour de Vendee

2009-10-05T20:39:00.002+02:00

Euskaltel & Koldo Fernandez couldn't repeat the succes they achieved in last year's Tour de Vendee. But at least they gave it all. When at 40 kilometres a group left, the guys did everything to neutralise the group, but it was just too hard to control. Koldo was the best of the bunch and came in on a 16th place, before good sprinters as Feillu and Geslin.

Results
1. Pavel Brutt Katusha 4:38:40
2. Mathieu Ladagnous +0:10
3. Thomas Voeckler +0:10
...
16. Koldo Fernandez +0:21
71. Aitor Galdos +1:17
75. Ivan Velasco +2:01
76. Iñaki Isasi +2:01

Ready for the Vendee!

2009-10-04T11:53:00.003+02:00

There aren't much races left for the 2009 season, but today the Tour de Vendee is held in France. For most of us, this seems like a pretty unimportant race, but let's not forget that Koldo Fernandez won there last year and he will definitely try and do that again. This year he will be accompanied by Iñaki Isasi, Aitor Hernández, Aitor Galdos, Jorge Azanza, Javier Aramendía, Andoni Lafuente and Ivan Velasco. A good sprinting team that will be 100 procent behind Koldo!

Sammy to ride the Tour in 2010

2009-09-29T15:23:00.002+02:00

Samuel Sanchez has already announced that he will ride the Tour de France next year. Igor Galdeano said 'Now that he finished third and second in the Vuelta, it will be the time for him to try the Tour once again next year. The first part of the season will consist of Paris-Nice, la Vuelta al Pais Vasco and the northern classics and then he will concentrate on both Tour and Vuelta. It's clear that we are a team born for the Tour de France and we will try to give it all".

This year Sammy has three races left to do, Paris - Tours, Giro di Piemonte and the Giro di Lombardia. I hope he can get the victory in that last classic, as I love the race and Samuel came close to the victory before!

SamSan 4th at WC

2009-09-28T14:48:00.002+02:00

World Championships are probably the most stressful races of the year. You get a 7 hours broadcast but you know only the last our depends, you know only the last lap really matters, that's when your heartbeat goes up to an impossible rate and you just feel history will be made. That's what happened yesterday and it was incredibly thrilling to see that our favourite Samuel Sanchez was in great shape, the best of the Spaniards I think. He stayed in the wheel of Fabian Cancellara and never let go. At a certain moment it looked like the two would get away but the small bunch of favourites came back. When the final cut was made, Samu had to stay because Rodriguez was already there. That way he couldn't compete for the victory and missed out a great opportunity to become world champion. But at least he rode a great race and I'm sure he will get other opportunities in the futur!

Romain Sicard World Champion!

2009-09-27T09:29:00.004+02:00

What we all hoped, came true yesterday! Next year Euskaltel will at least have on World Champion among their men. The French Basque Romain Sicard won the under 23 title in an amazing way, after winning the Tour de l'Avenir only one month ago. In the last twenty kilometres he attacked together with Michel Kreder from The Netherlands but on the last climb of the day Romain was too strong and road solo to the world title. A nice way to enter the prof peloton next year, I would say. Hopefully he can admit to the pace in the prof peloton and show us what he's really worth! Jonathan Castroviejo ended on a good 13th spot, Gorka Izagirre 47th.

4 representatives at the WC!

2009-09-25T21:28:00.003+02:00

As you probably all now, this weekend the World Championships are held in the beautiful Suisse city Mendrisio. The time trial has already been won by who else than Fabian Cancellara, but the road race promises to become a more exciting race. Samuel Sanchez will represent Euskaltel and as I see it he will be the second leader of the team, right after Valverde. When the parcours will be hard enough and Valverde, as usual, doesn't get in the right place, it will be up to Samsan to go for the victory, just at the Olympics.

The younger riders will also fight for a World Champions title, that one for boys under 23 years. Here Euskaltel will be presented by Romain Sicard, winner of the Tour de l'Avenir, Jonathan Castroviejo, stage winner in the Tour de l'Avenir, and Gorka Izagirre. This race will be hard to predict but I think our guys definitely have a chance. It would be nice to have a young World Champion in our team!

Intxausti and Izagirre are coming home!

2009-09-09T11:56:00.002+02:00

Great news on the transfer front for Euskaltel. Next year our orange troops will be stronger by adding two young and promising guys to it. Gorka Izagirre is a 21-year old guy with a lot of grinta and I'm sure he can evolve to a great one-day racer. The other one you'll probably know already ... Beñat Intxausti. Named one of the most promising Spanish riders, but in my opinion not taken good care of with Saunier Duval/Fuji. I would love to see what he can do with Euskaltel. So we already have Sicard, Izagirre and Intxausti, now I would also like Castroviejo :D

Sicard & Castroviejo in Tour de l'Avenir

2009-09-05T21:34:00.002+02:00

Today the Tour de l'Avenir started, probably the most important race for young stage riders in the world. Ar first sight this might not be interesting for us, but Romain Sicard the guy that already has a contract with Euskaltel is competing. And he immediately impressed everyone by getting second in the first stage. It became a sprint with another good french rider Bérard but unfortunately he couldn't beat him. There were also two other interesting riders there cause there are rumours they would join Euskaltel too. Jonathan Castroviejo became 39th, Gorka Izaguirre gave up.

Aitor H. King of he mountains

2009-09-03T22:25:00.002+02:00

Finally we got some action from Euskaltel in the Vuelta. In the fifth stage Aitor Hernandez got in the right break and crossed the finish on the only climb of the day and got ten points for the mountains classification out of it, enough to get in the lead in that ranking. Besides that, it looks like the whole team is very motivated to make Sanchez win the Vuelta, Aupa!

Raindrops kept falling on their heads

2009-09-02T10:42:00.002+02:00

The fourth Vuelta stage through The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium was coloured by some typical belgian weather. Due to the heavy rainfall, a lot of falls could be seen in the peloton and Egoi Martinez, Iñaki Isasi and Rubén Pérez were all part of a fall. Luckily without any real injuries. At the finish the whole peloton was spread because of a fall in the last two kilometres but no changes in the general rank. Samuel Sanchez came in first on a 25th spot.

Results
1. Andre Greipel COLUMBIA 5:43:05
2. Wouter Weylandt QUICK STEP ST
3. Bert Grabsch COLUMBIA ST
...
25. Samuel Sanchez ST
62. Amets Txurruka ST
74. Igor Anton ST
81. Iñaki Isasi ST
134. Alan Perez ST
135. Aitor Hernandez +4:53
136. Markel Irizar+4:53
137. Egoi Martinez +4:53
175. Ruben Perez +8:09

No balls no glory

2009-09-01T11:16:00.002+02:00

We can be short about the performances of Euskaltel in the third stage of the Vuelta, not much. I know these ain't the stages Euskaltel is aiming for, but still a little bit of action would be nice. Iñaki Isasi was the first to cross the finish line on a 27th spot.

Results
1. Greg Henderson COLUMBIA 4:41:01
2. Borut Bozic VACANSOLEIL ST
3. Oscar Freire RABOBANK ST
...
27. Iñaki Isasi ST
60. Markel Irizar ST
70. Rubén Pérez ST
83. Samuel Sanchez ST
123. Igor Anton ST
145. Alan Perez ST
147. Aitor Hernandez ST
157. Amets Txurruka ST

Sammy loses time already

2009-08-30T18:58:00.002+02:00

Since the Vuelta is starting in The Netherlands this year, the orange is representated by the Rabobank guys at the moment and not by Euskaltel. That became clear in today's first real stage because the Euskaltel guys kept theirselves low profile. Unfortunatly at the end everything came down to a sprint, won by Gerald Ciolek, but the peloton was ripped into pieces and Samuel lost 18 seconds to other favourites like Valverde and Mosquera.

Results
1. Gerald Ciolek MILRAM 4:43:12
2. Fabio Sabatini LIQUIGAS ST
3. Roger Hammond CERVELO ST
...
49. Iñaki Isasi ST
69. Ruben Perez ST
91. Samuel Sanchez +0:18
113. Aitor Hernandez +0:18
123. Alan Perez +0:29
130. Markel Irizar +0:30
135. Igor Anton +0:30
139. Amets Txurruka +0:30

Sammy ok in opening prologue

2009-08-30T14:01:00.004+02:00

Our big favourite for the end victory in this year's Vuelta d'España, Sammy Sanchez got off to a good start in the opening prologue in Assen. On the TT circuit he finished 29th 24 seconds down on winner Cancellara, which is an ok start. He wasn't the best Euskaltel rider though! Markel Irizar finished on a good 23th spot 23 seconds down on the Suisse TT-specialist. After the race Samuel said that he was very happy with this race cause there was a lot of wind but he still got among the main favourites.

Results
1. Fabian Cancellara SAXO BANK 5:20
2. Tom Boonen QUICK STEP +0:09
3. Tyler Farrar GARMIN +0:12
...
23. Markel Irizar +0:23
29. Samuel Sanchez +0:24
79. Aitor Hernandez +0:32
113. Alan Perez +0:36
115. Rubén Pérez +0:36
120. Igor Anton +0:37
133. Egoi Martinez +0:40
149. Amets Txurruka +0:42
155. Iñaki Isasi +0:44

SamSan ready for the Vuelta!

2009-08-28T10:06:00.002+02:00

It looks like everyone is ready for the upcoming Vuelta. Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano told that the team is strong and is ready to work their ass off for Samuel. Also Samuel Sanchez himself believes that he can win this Vuelta. He knows that he got more power and more experience thatn in 2007, when he became 3rd. Even dutch cycling magazines believe in him, they are calling him the top favourite together with Alejandro Valverde!

Eneco Tour off to a bad start

2009-08-19T08:52:00.002+02:00

Yesterday the most interesting tours of all, the Eneco Tour, started with a team from Euskaltel. Big shot of the team is Koldo Fernandez who should be able to place himself good in all the upcoming stages, since they are all sprint stages. It started with a prologue, but nobody could really convince. Juanjo Oroz was the first to finish on a 45th place.

Results
1. Sylvain Chavanel QUICK STEP 4:55
2. Tyler Farrar GARMIN +0:01
3. Tom Boonen QUICK STEP +0:01
...
45. Juan José Oroz +0:14
91. Josu Agirre +0:20
97. Javier Aramendia +0:21
127. Pablo Urtasun +0:25
134. Koldo Fernandez +0:26
145. Sergio De Lis +0:28
157. Aitor Galdos +0:34

Euskaltel ready for the Vuelta

2009-08-12T09:29:00.002+02:00

Euskaltel is (almost) ready for the upcoming Vuelta that begins at the end of August. Of course Samuel Sanchez will be the leader of the team, but with Igor Anton we have another general rank contender who could come pretty far in the mountains. Egoi Martinez, Ruben Perez, Alan Perez, Iñaki Isasi, Markel Irizar, Aitor Hernandez and Amets Txurruka will have to help the two leaders as much as possible, but also attack like we're used to from them. The name of Amets isn't yet 100 procent sure since he's still not in great shape after his fall in the Tour. He could be replaced by Jorge Azanza or Pablo Urtasun.

Azanza out in Burgos

2009-08-07T13:04:00.002+02:00

The second stage in the Vuelta a Burgos wasn't as succesful as the first one. Jorge Azanza had to drop out because of problems with his digestion system and it became clear that Samuel Sanchez isn't ready yet for the Vuelta. He was the first to cross the finish line on a 18th spot, 17 seconds down on winner Rodriguez. The third stage will again be one for the sprinters! Aupa Koldo!

Results
1. Joaquim Rodriguez CAISSE 3:36:51
2. Ben Hermans TOPSPORT +0:01
3. Alejandro Valverde CAISSE +0:01
...
18. Samuel Sa,chez +0:17
21. Romain Sicard +0:18
22. Pablo Urtasun +0:18
23. Juan José Oroz +0:18
29. Iñaki Isasi +0:27
31. Mikel Nieve +0:28
73. Gorka Verdugo +1:36
93. Koldo Fernandez +2:31

Koldo takes the win in Burgos

2009-08-06T09:21:00.003+02:00

Koldo Fernandez is in great shape! After his win in Getxo last week, he now won the first stage in the Vuelta a Burgos. Just like in Getxo the team did very good work keeping everything together and Koldo finished it with Pablo Urtasun finishing 4th! To be honest the sprint competition is not that strong, but still every win is a win!

Results
1. Koldo Fernandez EUSKALTEL 3:28:14
2. Enrique Mata BURGOS ST
3. Nicholas Maes TOPSPORT ST
...
4. Pablo Urtasun ST
44. Juan José Oroz ST
69. Samuel Sanchez ST
79. Mikel Nieve ST
81. Gorka Verdugo ST
97. Iñaki Isasi ST
108. Jorge Azanza +7:55

Romain Sicard joints Euskaltel

2009-08-02T19:19:00.002+02:00

This might be old news for you, but I apparently missed this while I was on vacation. Romain Sicard will ride in the orange jersey for the next two jears. He's a talented young guy from the Orbea cycling team who already won two races this year, the Subida al Naranco and a stage in the Tour de l'Isard. Romain is from France so he will also bring a nice diversity to the team. I hope he will get selected for the Tour de l'avenir so we can see what he's really worth but I have confidence in him!

Great basque races but overshadowed

2009-08-02T19:03:00.003+02:00

Euskaltel rode fantastically great in the four basque races this week: Ordizia, Getxo, San Sebastian and Urkiola. They managed to win two of them and that makes them of course the best team cause they rode together as one! In Ordizia Pablo Urtasun won the bunch sprint for the third place after great work from the team, in Getxo Koldo finished some very good team work off by wining his second victory in 2009. In the Clasica San Sebastian it was Rubén Pérez who impressed by finishing 9th and the week was closed by Igor Anton winning the Subida a Urkiola crossing the finish line solo. What a results! Unfortunately this news is completely overshadowed by the news about Mikel, but I would say enjoy these victories and let's wait in silence untill the results of Mikel's B-sample return.

Mikel doped too

2009-07-31T18:06:00.002+02:00

After a day that started so good with the win of Koldo Fernandez in the Circuito de Getxo, the news was released that Mikel Astarloza doped himself before the Tour de France. He was set on non-active by the team.

I'm deeply shocked and I'm going to take some time to think about what to do with this blog. I was kind of upset and discouraged after the news of Iñigo but I just can't describe what I'm feeling at the moment.

Mikel keeps on rising

2009-07-23T18:35:00.003+02:00

This Tour de France has become a fairytale for Mikel Astarloza and it just keeps on going on. After the heavy queens stage yesterday, there was a tough time trial ahead. Mikel did a pretty good job finishing 20th, only 3 seconds behind Andy Schleck and leaving behind great riders like Sastre, Menchov and Kreuziger. Now all what's left for him is the stage with the Mont Ventoux and if he can cope that, he will be 9th in Paris! For the others tomorrow will be a day of attacks, I'll suspect one of them, Alan or Juanjo, will go in the attack and maybe even make it to the finish. Let's hope so!

Mikel 10th in GC

2009-07-23T11:17:00.002+02:00

After his fabulous win in the 16th stage, Mikel was able to follow the second groupe with a lot of grinta in the queens stage of this years Tour de France. Carlos Sastre dropped out of the top 10 and was replaced by Mikel. Of course this is great but there are still two big hurdles to take, the time trial of today and the Mont Ventoux. Hopefully he will still have all his power in the time trial cause he got some strong competitors like Kreuziger, Nocentini and Sastre. Aupa!

Mikel con las manos al aire!

2009-07-21T18:19:00.002+02:00

Unbelievable, fantastic, amazing, super. All the words I can't think of at this moment. Mikel did it, he finally won something, and not just anything, a stage in the biggest event of the year The Tour de France! Together with Anton and Verdugo he got once again in an early break. At the last climb of the day it didn't look to good when Van den Broucke and Pellizotti took off, but on his own strength he was able to join them. Just before the top also Moinard was able to come back and the four of them were off for a thrilling descent. Four of the guys that weren't able to follow the four leaders did their best to get back and at 3 kilometres before the finish it looked like they were able to come back. Moinard took off but he didn't get away. Then it was time for our Mikel to try his luck and the other guys all had to pass. He got away and rood like he never did before and won the stage. With a victory sign of relief and satisfaction he conquered the Tour and said to the world that he's not just a loser, but a great rider! What a great moment for himself, Euskaltel and of course all the fans!

Mikel drops in GC

2009-07-20T21:53:00.002+02:00

Finally! That's the first word that comes to my mind after seeing yesterday's stage. All the bullshit can stop about Armstrong vs. Contador, now it's very clear that Contador is the strongest and no one will beat him, he's just the greatest stage rider at the moment. Just to get that out of my system, back to Euskaltel. For Euskaltel the day wasn't as good as we wished. Egoi and Mikel both went in the attack. Mikel of course did this to anticipate for the final climb or to get some time back in the hopes that the break would stay away. After some battles Egoi and Franco Pellizotti decided to drop out of the break because they probably were tired after the fierce fights that week. Unfortunatly the break didn't get a lead out and Mikel clearly gave it all, so he couldn't follow the best riders. He came in 21th and is now 19th in the GC. Also Igor Anton is coming through as he finished 16th and room for improving.

Stage Result
1. Alberto Contador ASTANA 5:03:58
2. Andy Schleck SAXO BANK +0:43
3. Vincenzo Nibali LIQUIGAS +1:03
...
16. Igor Anton +2:33
21. Mikel Astarloza +2:41
31. Amets Txurruka +3:43
59. Haimar Zubeldia +6:22
71. Gorka Verdugo +7:41
89. Alan Perez +12:11
90. Ruben Perez +12:11
93. Egoi Martinez +12:11
139. Juan José Oroz +18:12

General Classification
1. Alberto Contador ASTANA 63:17:56
2. Lance Armstrong ASTANA +1:37
3. Bradley Wiggins GARMIN +1:46
...
19. Mikel Astarloza +5:37
28. Haimar Zubeldia +10:30
43. Amets Txurruka +21:18
65. Igor Anton +41:49
66. Gorka Verdugo +42:57
93. Juan José Oroz +1:08:49
105. Ruben Perez +1:15:54
141. Alan Perez +1:49:35

Iñigo admits and quits cycling

2009-07-19T12:39:00.003+02:00

Iñigo Landaluze has confessed that he doped himself. 'I'm the only person responsable for this and I want to make clear that Euskaltel has nothing to do with this' he responded to ABC.es. After the news was released by the UCI that he took CERA, the new generation of doping, he announced that he won't wait for the B-sample and quits cycling. As a reason for his mistake he said that he wanted to make the Tour, cause he was in the preselection. But there were found weird values of certain substances in his urine so the team took him out of the preselection and put him on non-active. Nothing to blame Euskaltel for because their method of control can't detect CERA apparently.

Pablo Urtasun 7th in Madrid

2009-07-18T15:27:00.003+02:00

Euskaltel had a very active day in Madrid. First of all Pablo Urtasun got in a break of 13 riders but this one didn't last. Then it was up to Javier Aramendia who got in the right break together with 11 other riders. They never got more than 2 minutes advantage and were taken back only three kilometres before the finish. In the sprint Pablo Urtasun was able to place himself on a nice 7th place.

Results
1. Francisco Ventoso CARMIOORO 4:11:41
2. Aaron Kemps ROCK RACING ST
3. Francisco Pacheco CONTENTPOLIS ST
...
7. Pablo Urtasun ST
31. Sergio De Lis ST
45. Aitor Hernandez ST
70. Mikel Nieve ST
71. Josu Agirre ST
98. Javier Aramendia ST

Egoi loses mountain jersey

2009-07-18T15:11:00.003+02:00

Euskaltel was omnipresent in the 13th stage of the Tour de France. First of all Rubén Pérez was in the break of the day and was able to follow Sylvain Chavanel and Heinrich Haussler, but on the category one climb he had to let go the other two. Then Amets went in the attack with Brice Feillu. In my opinion a bit too late cause it was clear that he was very good but the gap with winner Haussler was just too big, he came in second more than 4 minutes down. The worst news came from Egoi Martinez who lost his mountains jersey. On the first climb he was able to outsprint Franco Pellizotti but then he had to let go the peloton and couldn't defend his jersey anymore. He's now 4 points behind, still able to take it back in the stages this weekend.

Results
1. Heinrich Haussler CERVELO 4:56:26
2. Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL +4:11
3. Brice Feillu AGRITUBEL +6:13
...
28. Mikel Astarloza +6:43
54. Gorka Verdugo +6:43
56. Haimar Zubeldia +6:43
61. Igor Anton +6:43
71. Egoi Martinez +7:12
80. Rubén Pérez +7:43
108. Alan Perez +20:21
109. Juan José Oroz +20:21

Prologue in Vuelta a Madrid

2009-07-17T22:02:00.002+02:00

Euskaltel is not only active on french ground at the moment, they are also competing in the Vuelta a Madrid. There everything started with a 8.1-kilometre long prologue. Josu Agirre, Aitor Hernandez and Pablo Urtasun all gave their all but ended on a 19th, 20th and 26th position. Two other stages are yet to come, hopefully they can take home one, cause we really need a victory!

Results
1. Hector Guerra Liberty Seguros 09:57
2. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne +0:23
3. Xavier Tondo Andalucia +0:25
...
19. Josu Agirre +0:46
20. Aitor Hernandez +0:47
26. Pablo Urtasun +0:50
44. Javier Aramendia +0:58
54. Sergio De Lis +1:04
57. Mikel Nieve +1:05
109. Andoni Lafuente +1:49

Iñigo Landaluze caught for using CERA

2009-07-17T14:48:00.003+02:00

Before the official message of the UCI, Euskaltel released a mail stating their opinion about Iñigo Landaluze. The 32-year old rider from Algorta was caught for using CERA during this year's Dauphiné Libéré. He was already held out of the Spanish Championships and won't ride for Euskaltel anymore untill more details are revealed. It's not the first time that Landaluze got caught. In 2005, after his win in the Dauphiné Libéré, he was also suspended but after some lawyer work, he could stay in the team. Of course this news will hurt all Euskaltel fans, but in these hard times for cycling, the 'bad' guys have to leave.

Egoi still king of the mountains

2009-07-17T13:30:00.003+02:00

It has been two quite boring days in the Tour de France. Yesterday Egoi went in the attack because his biggest opponent Franco Pellizotti attacked to get the mountains jersey. On all the mountains Franco was able to beat Egoi, but he still has a lead of 18 points but I'm sure Franco will keep on attacking. Aupa Egoi!

Another rest day for Euskaltel

2009-07-15T08:37:00.002+02:00

It was a quiet day for Euskaltel in the stage from Limoges to Issoudun. In the sprint Ruben Perez placed himself 18th, but it shows that he hasn't got the strength yet to compete with the big guys. Mikel Astarloza lost 15 seconds due to a stupid break in the peloton and is now placed 18th in the general rank.

Results
1. Mark Cavendish Columbia 4:46:43
2. Thor Hushovd Cervélo ST
3. Tyler Farrar Garmin ST
...
18. Ruben Perez ST
42. Egoi Martinez ST
68. Mikel Astarloza +0:15
114. Gorka Verdugo +0:15
115. Igor Anton +0:15
116. Amets Txurruka +0:15
134. Alan Perez +0:15
147. Juan José Oroz +0:15

Mixed feelings about first Tourweek

2009-07-14T13:57:00.004+02:00

The first week of the Tour de France has been one of ups and downs for everyone, and also for Euskaltel. Koldo hasn't been able to place himself in a sprint and in one of the Pyrenees stages he came in outside the time limit all by himself. Mikel Astarloza lost some time because of a fall, but was able to take the time back with a good stage in the Pyrenees where he became onfortunate third after Luis Léon Sanchez and Sandy Casar after he gave everything to reel Efimkin back in. Juan José Oroz is also riding a good Tour, finishing before the grupetto's in the mountain stages. Amets Txurruka has been himself, attacking in almost every stage, but also helping other team members like Egoi Martinez. He made the sun shine for Euskaltel by getting the mountains jersey in the last stage, although he let go 20 points on the Tourmalet which I don't understand. Astana-rider, but still Euskaltel in our hearts, Haimar Zubeldia has been riding his ass of for Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador, I never saw him riding in front of the peloton that much!

General Rank
1. Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R 34:24:21
2. Alberto Contador Astana +0:06
3. Lance Armstrong Astana +0:08
...
17. Mikel Astarloza +3:02
22. Haimar Zubeldia +4:14
48. Egoi Martinez +15:30
54. Amets Txurruka +20:13
77. Juan José Oroz +34:51
79. Gorka Verdugo +35:22
85. Igor Anton +39:02
105. Ruben Perez +52:49
161. Alan Perez +1:23:52

Holiday time

2009-07-06T09:03:00.000+02:00

I know I've only just started again with posting, but it's time for me to take some vacation and completely relax. Of course I will keep on following the Tour and support our orange guys in the hopes of winning a stage. Aupa!

Injury day for Euskaltel

2009-07-05T20:30:00.003+02:00

It was a bad first day for Euskaltel in the Tour de France. After a good start from Amets and Igor on the first mountain, Igor and Alan fell down, luckily only leaving some scratches. Then all went well for Koldo in the sprint until 900 metres when he caused a crash and he also took other sprinters like Boonen and Freire out of competition. He hasn't made himself popular, if you ask me. Fortunately he didn't get a real injury, just some bruises and scratches. Mikel still maintained his 12th spot in the general.
Results

1. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia 4:30:02

2. Tyler Farrar Garmin ST

3. Romain Feillu Agritubel ST

...
21. Alan Perez ST

33. Egoi Martinez ST

39. Mikel Astarloza ST

65. Juan José Oroz ST

68. Igor Anton ST

72. Ruben Perez ST

110. Amets Txurruka ST

124. Haimar Zubeldia ST

126. Gorka Verdugo ST

177. Koldo Fernandez ST

Mikel opens Tour with 12th spot

2009-07-05T10:53:00.002+02:00

Mikel Astarloza is on track for his goal, a top ten position in the Tour de France. In the opening prologue he finished 12th, 44 seconds behind the expected winner Fabian Cancellara. He left some important names behind him like the Schleck brothers, Menchov, Kirchen and last year's winner Sastre. The other guys all performed like they used to, Oroz did good too with a 30th spot. Koldo saved himself for the sprint of tomorrow, where he will have to face big guns like Cavendish, Freire, Boonen, Hushovd and other Tyler Farrars.

Results
1. Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank 19:32
2. Alberto Contador Astana +0:18
3. Bradley Wiggins Garmin +0:19
...
12. Mikel Astarloza +0:44
30. Juan Jose Oroz +01:14
32. Gorka Verdugo +01:15
54. Haimar Zubeldia +1:31
69. Igor Anton +1:38
82. Amets Txurruka +1:45
115. Egoi Martinez +1:59
145. Ruben Perez +2:19
162. Alan Perez +2:35
168. Koldo Fernandez +2:40

New bike for the Tour

2009-06-30T23:04:00.001+02:00

Especially for the Tour de France Orbea made a new bike to support our guys in the next weeks. A nice model if you ask me!

Ready for the Tour!

2009-06-30T09:19:00.002+02:00

This saturday the biggest cycling event of the year will start and of course, as the most important team, Euskaltel will be present. These are the 9 riders that will represent our beloved orange jersey and hopefully make us proud.

Igor Anton: After the Spanish Championships it looks like he's getting in shape, he probably won't go for the general rank, but I see him getting in a break in a mountain stage somewhere in the last week and then he should be able to finish it. Maybe he can show us something on the Mont Ventoux, where he became second once in the Dauphiné.
Mikel Astarloza: I'm not sure what to expect from him. Just like Anton he rode a great Spanish Championships, but it's so hard for him to finish anything so hoping for a stage win is difficult. In the general it will even get tougher to get a top 10 spot, looking at all the big guns that will be at the start.
Koldo Fernandez: It won't be easy for Koldo to win a sprint in the Tour, it's after all the biggest race of the year and all the great sprinters will be present, wel except maybe Boonen. Maybe he should just try to get in the right break and then finish it off in a small group.
Egoi Martinez: Of course we can expect to get some attacks from this man. After his leader's jersey in the Vuelta, I'm sure he wants to show something in the Tour too and after his missed stage win at Prato Nevoso last year, he will definitely want to take revenge.
Juan José Oroz: I'm excited to see what this young man will be able to see. He rode a good Tour de Suisse where he stayed with the big guns for quite a while, so maybe when he doesn't have to work too hard for the team, he can try something on his own.
Alan Perez: I'm always anxious to see what Alan will do. He has definitely the potential to gain a stage, but it just never works out for him. Just like Oroz, if he doesn't have to work for the team, he should be able to get in a break and with a good sprint finish it off.
Rubén Pérez: Rubén will probably the one that will have to help Koldo in the sprints, but of course with his newborn sprinting skills, he can try it on his own too, although I don't think he has already the experience to beat Cavendish, Freire ... but a top 10 position is possible.
Amets Txurruka: Our most competitive rider of 2007 will probably be aiming for some good attacks and with his power I'm sure he could be able to win a stage. Last year he gave it all for the team and he'll probably do the same this year.
Gorka Verdugo: Good-old Gorka is of course a master gregario for Mikel and Igor in the mountains. Individual he hasn't been able to improve a lot after his good start of the year in 2008, but hopefully this can change.

So you see, a lot of potential and let's hope for the best. AUPA!

The Spanish Championships

2009-06-28T22:09:00.003+02:00

This weekend Euskaltel participated in the Spanish Championships. First up was the time-trial and only three of our orange guys had the guts to test themselves here. The brave ones were of course Markel Irizar and youngsters Josu Agirre and Javier Aramendia. Although Markel couldn't life up to his expectations after some good time trials in the Tour de Suisse, he became 13th, Josu 16th and Javier 20th, but keep in mind the olympic spirit 'Participating is more important than winning!' (yeah rights :p)

In the road race Euskaltel showed up with a 15-head strong bunch full of motivated riders. With the hilly ride there were some chances for the more advanced climbers. Early in the race Irizar, Azanza, Martinez, Rubén and Josu all tried their luck but it was too early to keep a solid break. At the end Anton got away solo, but was joined by Valverde, Plaza, Zaballa and our Mikel Astarloza. The latter sprinted away in the last kilometres and just got passed in the final metres by Rubén Plaza. Once again no big shot for Euskadi, but still a good 3rd and 5th place!

Aitor Galdos going strong in Luxemburg

2009-06-06T07:18:00.002+02:00

After a good opening time trial, a good sprint and a third spot in the third stage, Aitor Galdos is doing extremel well in the Tour of Luxemburg. With only two stages to go, he's now fourth in the general rank, only six seconds from leader Assan Bazayev. In the second stage, it was once again Rubén Pérez who competed for the sprint victory, coming in seventh.

Line-ups Luxemburg & Dauphiné Libéré

2009-06-02T19:53:00.002+02:00

I've been terribly busy the last few weeks because my exams are coming up in a week, but tomorrow Euskaltel will start to race again in the Tour of Luxemburg. The riders there will be Amets Txurruka, Rubén Pérez, Pablo Urtasun, Markel Irizar, Aitor Galdos, Iván Velasco, Aitor Hernández and Josu Agirre. Looks like me something for the sprinters.
Next sunday the Dauphiné Libéré will also start. There the big Tour de France contenders will take of. Euskaltel will send Iñigo Landaluze, Igor Anton, Mikel Astarloza, Iñaki Isasi, Egoi Martinez, Mikel Nieve, Alan Perez and Gorka Verdugo. A nice climbing team if you ask me! Please deliver us another victory!

Euskaltel & Haimar going strong in Catalunya

2009-05-21T11:26:00.002+02:00

Euskaltel and Haimar Zubeldia are doing a great job in the Volta a Catalunya. In the second stage it all came down to a sprint, Samuel placed himself 14th, Mikel 19th, Aitor Hernandez 23th and the other big guns didn't lose time. The third stage has been won by Alejandro Valverde who is leading the Volta now, but he's closely followed by Haimar who's second in the general 14 seconds down, Samuel who's third with 15 seconds and Mikel who's 4th with 17 seconds. Igor Anton lost three minutes in the third stage and isn't competing for the overall victory anymore. Today we get the queens stage where one of our boys will certainly take over the leaders jersey.

No Drama for Euskaltel in prologue

2009-05-18T16:38:00.003+02:00

The Volta a Catalunya started with a short time trial, not Euskaltel's speciality as you'll probably know, but the team did their best to not lose time. Samuel Sanchez ended up on a 19th spot, only six seconds behind winner Thor Hushovd. But the best performance today from my perspective came from Haimar Zubeldia, the leader of the Astanasquad with a good 13th place, he's on fire!

Results
1. Thor Hushovd Cervélo 00:04:07
2. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargnbe +0:01
3. Greg Henderson Columbia +0:02
...
19. Samuel Sanchez +0:06
36. Mikel Astarloza +0:08
48. Aitor Hernandez +0:09
57. Pablo Urtasun +0:11
63. Igor Anton +0:12
125. Amets Txurruka +0:20
143. Iñigo Landaluze +0:23
152. Ivan Velasco +0:28

Ready for rumble in Catalunya

2009-05-16T14:07:00.003+02:00

Euskaltel will send a team to the Volta a Catalunya consisting of Samuel Sánchez, Mikel Astarloza, Igor Anton, Aitor Hernandez, Amets Txurruka, Pablo Urtasun, Iñigo Landaluze and Ivan Velasco, who will be making his comeback after his fall in Rioja. As you can see a strong team so we can expect a lot! For Astana Haimar Zubeldia is the leader of the team.

Mikel happy with performance in Romandy

2009-05-08T20:54:00.003+02:00

Although it wasn't as great as last year, Mikel Astarlazo was satisfied with his first part of the season because he's preparing quietly for his biggest goal the Tour de France.
You showed good shape in Romandy, how do you feel about your Suisse adventure?
I return very happy, my form has been better than I thought. My training sessions have been very calm but what I did in Romandy gave me hope for the next appointments.

What's your next race and what are your ambitions?
My next race will be the Volta a Catalunya. There I don't just want a spot in the top 10 of the general rank, I want a stage win too.

The Tour de France comes closer and closer, do you get nervous or are you staying calm?
I'm very calm, it's in my nature to be. Although some tests bring some special views in my head, a methodical approach in my trainings and to have confidence gives me a lot of tranquility.

Although it's still some time, who do you see as the favourites? Will Mikel do it?
It's certain that I still lack something. Riders like Armstrong, Contador, Valverde, Evans and Menchov will be the protagonists. For myself I don't know if I will be 4th, 7th or 32th in the general rank. All I know is that I will give my all on the french roads. I will give my all to be among the first in the general and otherwise I will go for a stage win.

It's Giro time ... without Euskaltel :(

2009-05-08T20:47:00.002+02:00

Tomorrow the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia will start in the beautiful city Venice. I'm very excited because it promisses to be a great edition, with great stages and no clear favourite. Unfortunately Euskaltel won't participate this year because they didn't feel it would fit in their plan. As a return we get Xacobeo with Iban Mayoz, a former Euskaltel member, guarentee for some great attacks. During the Giro Euskaltel will be present in the Volta a Catalunya and the Bayern Rundfahrt.

Mikel takes ok start in Romandy

2009-04-28T22:02:00.002+02:00

Euskaltel and their leader Mikel Astarloza are off to a good start in the Tour of Romandy. In the 3.1 kilometres prologue, he finished 16th, 6 seconds down on winner Frantisek Rabon. For the general rank he left some important riders behind like Cadel Evans, Vladimir Karpets and Denis Menchov.

Results
1. Frantisek Rabon Columbia 3:45
2. Sandy Casar Française des Jeux +0:02
3. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne +0:03
...
16. Mikel Astarloza +0:06
35. Juan José Oroz +0:08
45. Igor Anton +0:09
97. Pablo Urtasun +0:14
100. Koldo Fernandez +0:14
106. Iñaki Isasi +0:14
146. Aitor Galdos +0:22
154. Iñigo Landaluze +0:24

Euskaltel for Romandy and Asturias

2009-04-28T16:51:00.003+02:00

These are the teams for the upcoming Tour of Romandy and the Vuelta a Asturias.

Romandy: Igor Anton, Mikel Astarloza, Koldo Fernandez, Aitor Galdos, Iñaki Isasi, Iñigo Landaluze, Juanjo Oroz and Pablo Urtasun. Great team, good mix of sprinters and riders for the general rank!

Asturias: Samuel Sanchez, Sergio De Lis, Markel Irizar, Aitor Hernandez, Amets Txurruka, Andoni Lafuente, Jorge Azanza and Ivan Velasco. Anxious to see what Samuel can do in his home base!

Amets Txurruka close in Rioja

2009-04-26T22:25:00.002+02:00

Our Amets Txurruka came close to a victory today. He ended up in a group of six that rode to the finish line together, but at the sprint, he didn't have enough power anymore to take it home and he became 6th. Earlier that day Markel Irizar also did a good job being in the break of the day. Sad news came from Ivan Velasco. He fell and broke three ribs and suffers of a trauma somewhere in his back or something. He has been taken to the hospital immediately. Hopefully everything will be alright!

Results
1. David Garcia Xacobeo 5:55:47
2. Angel Vicioso Andalucia ST
3. Manuel Vazquez Contentpolis ST
...
6. Amets Txurruka +0:03
13. Aitor Galdos +3:03
15. Aitor Hernandez +3:03
36. Pablo Urtasun +9:08
41. Markel Irizar +14:58

Samuel 4th in Fleche Wallonne

2009-04-23T19:52:00.002+02:00

Euskaltel rode a good race in the Fleche Wallonne. During the race good old Gorka Verdugo did a great amount of work in front of the peloton keeping the distance with the two breakaways decent. Then when the favourites started attacking he also countered some of them, one time even ending up in a promising break together with Egoi Martinez who also rode a good race. At the end it came all down on Samuel and he didn't disappoint. He went to the top with the favourites, but he wasn't able to follow the attack of Evans first and then the final kick of Rebellin. He ended on a good 4th spot, promising for the upcoming Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Results
1. Davide Rebellin Diquigiovanni 4:42:15
2. Andy Schleck +0:02
3. Damiano Cunego +0:02
...
4. Samuel Sanchez +0:07
63. Iñigo Landaluze+1:24
64. Egoi Martinez +1:24
103. Ruben Perez +1:24
105. Iñaki Isasi +1:24
106. Alan Perez +1:24
141. Juan José Oroz +1:24

Euskaltel misses out in Amstel

2009-04-19T22:59:00.003+02:00

Euskaltel missed out on the prizes in the dutch classic The Amstel Gold Race. In the beginning they made the pace in the peloton, keeping the break of the day in a decent reach, but afterwards it all went downhill. Samuel Sánchez was the strongest of the team and was the only one who was able to follow the group of the favourites. Unfortunately they came to late and he sprinted to a 14th spot.

Results
1. Serguei Ivanov Katusha 6:38:31
2. Karsten Kroon Saxo Bank ST
3. Robert Gesink Rabobank +0:08
...
14. Samuel Sánchez +0:08
59. Iñigo Landaluze +4:30
79. Alan Pérez +6:02
83. Iñaki Isasi +6:02

Euskaltel ready for the next classics

2009-04-17T10:00:00.002+02:00

Euskaltel will send a strong team to the upcoming exciting races Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Leader of the team will be Samuel Sánchez in great shape from the Vuelta Pais Vasco, followed by Egoi Martínez, Rubén Pérez, Iñigo Landaluze, Juanjo Oroz, Alan Pérez, Iñaki Isasi, Aitor Galdos and Gorka Verdugo. Also Haimar Zubeldia will be participating for Astana.

Euskaltel just missed out in Klasika Primavera

2009-04-13T10:26:00.003+02:00

The Euskaltel guys that competed in the Klasika Primavera gave their all to get the victory in the Klasika Primavera and at various moments in the race, it looked like one of them would take it. There was Antón, Landaluze, Verdugo,Astarloza and Txurruka who all did their best to win, but at the end Egoi Martínez came closest in a small group sprint just losing out to Alejandro Valverde. After the race he said: "I am content about the whole week, I won the sprint classification in the Vuelta al País Vasco, and today I also finished on the podium. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to win, even though I was close. Now, I will ride the Belgian Classics and later the Tour de France and I hope to do even better there." So up to the Amstel Gold Race!

Results
1. Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 4:04:58
2. Egoi Martinez Euskaltel ST
3. José Herrada Contentpolis ST
...
4. Mikel Astarloza ST
8. Gorka Verdugo ST
13. Aitor Hernandez +0:32
18. Iván Velasco +0:38
19. Mikel Nieve +0:39
28. Jorge Azanza +0:47
31. Iñigo Landaluze +0:47
38. Amets Txurruka +1:21
78. Igor Antón +6:22

Samuel ends up 3rd in Pais Vasco

2009-04-12T13:13:00.002+02:00

After a penultimate stage where nothing happened, it all came down to the final time trial in the Vuelta al País Vasco. Over a parcours of 24 kilometres Alberto Contador humiliated all the other competitors and stated once again that he's the big favourite for the upcoming Tour de France. Unfortunately also Toni Colom rode the time trial of his life and he beat Samuel Sánchez with 23 seconds for the third spot. Of course third in a time trial is a great result for Samy, especially when you know that he left big guns like Evans, Pinotti and Rogers behind. A good sign for the Vuelta later this year! In the general rank of course he ended op on the podium and he won the points classification. Egoi Martínez won the sprints classification, Aitor Hernández just missed out the mountains classification and Euskaltel closely lost the teams classification with one second to Caisse d'Epargne. A great team result!

General Rank
1. Alberto Contador Astana 20:48:30
2. Antonio Colom Katusha +0:30
3. Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel +0:53
...
14. Egoi Martínez +4:01
20. Gorka Verdugo +5:18
67. Aitor Hernández +33:39
76. Iñaki Isasi +36:02

Samuel Sánchez excellent in Pais Vasco

2009-04-10T10:57:00.002+02:00

The Tour of the Basque Country was the first big goal for Samuel Sánchez in 2009 and immediately from the start he put a stamp on the race. In the first stage he fought for the victory in a small group with all the favourites, losing very close to Luis León Sánchez. In the same stage Aitor Hernandez attacked, ensuring himself the mountains classification and is still leading there. In the third and probably queens stage Samuel Sánchez impressed in the mountains climbing together with Cadel Evans and Toni Colom, nine seconds behind Alberto Contador. He became third in that stage. In the fourth stage nothing important happened, Samuel became tenth in the bunch sprint and is clearly showing great shape. Today we got another hilly stage but saturday everything will be decided in the final time trial.

Schedules of Samuel and Igor

2009-04-09T14:29:00.002+02:00

Today Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano released the schedules of the two big guns Samuel Sánchez and Igor Antón. The olympic champion will ride the northern classics Amstel Gold Race, the Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Afterwards he will ride his home tour the Vuelta a Aturias and the Volta a Catalunya and the Bayern Rundfahrt. Igor Antón's preparation for the Tour de France will be along the Tour of Romandie, the Volta a Catalunya, the Tour of Luxembourg and the Spanish Chamionships.

I'm off to Rome!

2009-03-31T22:24:00.002+02:00

For the next week I will be in Rome with school, so this means that I won't be able to update this blog, to my greatest regret cause I'm really enjoying it again nowadays. Of course this means that I won't be able to watch the Tour of Flandres and the first part of the Tour of the Basque Country. Hopefully I can find a bar where they play Rai sport or something so I atleast can watch the last kilometres of Flandres greatest. See you till then!

Pics from Sammy's victory

2009-03-29T23:04:00.001+02:00

Thanx to Biciciclismo

Oroz shows form in Criterium International

2009-03-29T22:47:00.004+02:00

In the Criterium International Juan José Oroz is clearly getting in great shape for the big classics. In the second stage Alan Pérez was present in the break of the day, but at the end Juan Jose Oroz was the first to cross the finish in a group just twelve seconds behind winner Jens Voigt, together with Ivan Velasco. In the closing short time trial Mikel Astarloza showed that he still has some good skills by placing himself 15th, while Juan José Oroz also did he's best with a good 20th place. In the general ranking he finished on an impressive 7th spot, he's clearly getting ready for the northern classics, where he showed potential last year.

Results stage 2
1. Jens Voigt Saxo Bank 2:30:22
2. Danny Pate Garmin +0:07
3. Romain Feillu Agritubel +0:09
...
15. Juan José Oroz +0:15
25. Ivan Velasco +0:15
42. Alan Pérez +1:11
77. Mikel Astarloza +6:24

Results Stage 3
1. Tony Martin Columbia 10:05
2. Bradley Wiggins Columbia +0:06
3. Frantisek Rabon Columbia +0:08
...
15. Mikel Astarloza +0:31
20. Juan José Oroz +0:36
42. Alan Perez +0:50
87. Ivan Velasco +1:29

General Ranking
1. Jens Voigt Saxo Bank 7:23:00
2. Frantisek Rabon Columbia +0:02
3. Danny Pate Garmin +0:09
...
7. Juan José Oroz +0:30
29. Ivan Velasco +1:23
36. Alan Perez +1:53
54. Mikel Astarloza +6:55

Sammy wins in Llodio!

2009-03-29T22:29:00.002+02:00

Samuel Sánchez and Euskaltel delivered a nice piece of team work in this years Gran Premio de Llodio. After a third place of last year with Aitor Galdos, the aim was to do better than that. From the beginning there were a lot of attacks, but only a group of four managed to get away. Luckily in this group two guys from Euskaltel Egoi Martinez and Aitor Hernández were present so in the peloton the other guys could lay back a bit. When with 25 kilometres to go they were taken back, three other guys escaped. Ezequiel Mosquera, David de la Fuente and our Samuel Sánchez! They managed to stay away from the hunting mass and sprinted for the victory. There Samuel Sánchez outsprinted De la Fuente and took the second victory of 2009 for Euskaltel!! Yiihoooeeeee!!!

Results
1. Samuel Sanchez Euskaltel 4:03:58
2. David De la Fuente Fuji ST
3. Ezezquiel Mosquera +0:01
...
5. Aitor Galdos +0:21
12. Rubén Pérez +0:21
14. Mikel Nieve 0:21
17. Gorka Verdugo +0:25
32. Pablo Urtasun +1:20
39. Jorge Azanza +1:20
62. Iñaki Isasi +6:39
66. Egoi Martinez +6:39
68. Aitor Hernandez +6:39

Koldo 6th in first leg Criterium International

2009-03-29T12:45:00.002+02:00

In France Euskaltel was present for the Criterium International. On the first day of the two day-three stages race, we got a stage where a sprint just couldn't be avoided. Euskaltel put out Koldo as their first man and they tried everything in their power to get him in front when the sprint started. Unfortunately Koldo couldn't finish off the great work and became 6th. Other bad news came from Javier Aramendia. He fell in the last kilometres and got an injury on his left ribcage. Today there will the queens stage and a short time trial.

Close but no catch for Euskaltel in Castilla

2009-03-27T21:11:00.002+01:00

This week the vuelta a Castilla y León came to an end and Euskaltel came a few times close to the victory but unfortunately couldn't grab another victory. The second stage was a 28 kilometres long time trial were Markel Irizar once again excelled and became 6th. A good uphill sprint was the requirement for the third stage, of course no problem for mister Valverde and he won, but for Euskaltel it was once again Rubén Pérez who fought for the victory, this time ending up 5th. In the queens stage it was Aitor Hernández who came through as the best climber of the team on a 14th spot, just in front of newbie Mikel Nieve who became 17th. In the last stage Caisse d'Epargne made the pace to get Alejandro Valverde in a good position for the sprint. He did and won, but Pablo Urtason came very nice 3rd! Overall Aitor Hernández was the best one, ranking 13rd, a great result for him.

Rubén sprints in Castilla

2009-03-23T20:22:00.003+01:00

It's now official: Rubén Pérez is Euskaltel's third great sprinter. After the win earlier this year of Koldo and the great performance of Aitor in San Remo, Rubén proved today that he has what it takes to once win a stage. Of course the list of sprinters isn't too great in Castilla y Léon, but becoming fourth in a real sprint stage should be a stepping stone to greater results. Also Pablo Urtasun was able to maintain a good place, he finised 10th.

Results
1. Joaquin Sobrino Martinez Burgos 4:31:53
2. David Vitoria Rock Racing ST
3. José Joaquin Rojas Caisse ST
...
4. Rubén Pérez ST
10. Pablo Urtasun ST
28. Markel Irizar ST
42. Aitor Hernández ST
68. Amets Txurruka ST
79. Mikel Nieve ST
97. Igor Antón ST
133. Jorge Azanza +9:32

Ready, set, go ... Castilla y León!

2009-03-22T21:55:00.004+01:00

After some races in France and Italy, we're heading back to our home base in Spain with the vuelta ciclista Castilla Y León. As I see it, the team will be divided in two groups the climbers and the sprinters. The sprinters will have to work for newly born sprinter Rubén Pérez. This will be Markel Irizar, Pablo Urtasun and Jorge Azanza. The others will be the climbers, or attackers as you like. I'm especially looking forward to see Mikel Nieve again, cause he has been the most promising rider of the beginning of the year for me. Also Igor Antón, Amets Txurruka and Aitor Hernàndez will be present, fun ensured and let's hope for the best!

Great Milan-San Remo with Galdos 7th

2009-03-22T11:41:00.002+01:00

Just like last year, Euskaltel was able to put some orange in the first regions of the peloton in Milan-San Remo. In 2008, it was Iñigo Landaluze who excited us following Fabian Cancellara at the end, but this year he fell right in front of the Poggio. On the Poggio, Egoi Martinez impressed and was able to counter the attack of Davide Rebellin. Also Aitor Galdos was able to stay with the main group. When everything came down to a sprint at the end he placed himself on a great 7th spot, of course quite behind Haussler and winner Cavendish who fought a legendary battle. After the race Aitor quoted that he had a great feeling all day long and with this shape he could be on the podium.

Results
1. Mark Cavendish Columbian 6:42:45
2. Heinrich Haussler Cervelo ST
3. Thor Hushovd Cervelo ST
...
7. Aitor Galdos +0:02
25. Egoi Martinez +0:02
122. Ivan Velasco +8:05
123. Koldo Fernandez +8:05
157. Andoni Lafuente +12:16

Euskaltel for San Remo

2009-03-17T23:09:00.002+01:00

After quite an aweful Paris-Nice and Tirreno Adriatico in my opinion, hopefully Euskaltel will be able to redeem themselves by giving it their all in the first really big race of the season Milan - San Remo. Team leader will be Koldo Fernandez who will have to try to get in the final sprint, although such a long race can be quite hard for him. There are also Egoi Martinez, good in Tirreno, and Iñigo Landaluze, who rode great last year. The others are Aitor Galdos, Ivan Velasco, Josu Agirre, Andoni Lafuente and Pablo Urtasun. Aupa Euskaltel!

Rubén keeps sprinting in Murcia

2009-03-08T22:25:00.002+01:00

The last stage of the Vuelta a Murcia came again down on a sprint and it was once again Rubén Pérez who represented Euskaltel. This time he became 6th, still a good place if you ask me! In the general rank Mikel Nieve was the best orange guy on a 15th place.

Results
1. Graeme Brown Rabobank 3:11:46
2. Greg Henderson Columbia ST
3. Juan José Haedo Saxo Bank ST
...
6. Rubén Pérez ST
34. Jorge Azanza ST
36. Mikel Astarloza ST
37. Mikel Nieve ST
48. Amets Txurruka +1:50
49. Aitor Galdos +2:09
88. Igor Anton +10:17
90. Sergio De Lis +10:17

General Rank
1. Denis Menchov Rabobank 14:55:06
2. Rubén Plaza Liberty Seguros +0:20
3. Pieter Weening Rabobank +0:35
...
15. Mikel Nieve +3:52
27. Amets Txurruka +16:42
32. Rubén Pérez +18:53
35. Jorge Azanza +19:33
58. Mikel Astarloza +27:34
76. Aitor Galdos +32:34
87. Sergio De Lis +38:04
92. Igor Anton +40:25

Sanchez 25th in prologue Paris-Nice

2009-03-08T22:15:00.002+01:00

Ok I know that the first stage of Paris-Nice wasn't a real prologue, but with only 9 kilometres to go you can barely call it a real stage. The hopes where high for Euskaltel after Markel Irizar's great second place of last year, but he couldn't repeat this. He finished 31th. Samuel Sanchez, the team leader started ok with a 25th place. Haimar Zubeldia is also riding here, in support of Alberto Contador who won today, he became 39th.

Results
1. Alberto Contador Astana 11:05
2. Bradley Wiggins Garmin +0:07
3. Luis Leon Sanchez Caisse d'Epargne +0:09
...
25. Samuel Sa,chez +0:33
31. Markel Irizar +0:36
51. Gorka Verdugo +0:42
61. Aitor Hernandez +0:46
71. Juan José Oroz +0:48
89. Alan Perez +0:52
100. Iñaki Isasi +0:54
153. Javier Aramendia +1:21

Rubén Pérez and Mikel Nieve impress in Murcia

2009-03-08T10:20:00.002+01:00

In the second stage of the Vuelta a Murcia Rubén Pérez confirmed that he's becoming a real sprinters with a fabulous second place behind Greg Henderson, leaving behing Brown, Goss and Aitor Galdós who became 13th. The third stage was a time trial so little was expected from our orange guys. Mikel Astarloza finished 24th but no one was able to put his stamp on the race. The fourth stage was the queen race of this year's Vuelta a Murcia. After 30 kilometres Amets Txurruka got in a break, but due to the hard work of leader Denis Menchov they were taken back before the finish. At the end a small group got away with Menchov, Siutsou, Mosquera, Plaza and ... Mikel Nieve! Our young neo-prof crossed the finish on a 9th place in the same time as winner Rubén Plaza. He just keeps on impressing me!! Damn he's good!

Results stage 2
1. Greg Henderson Columbia 2:07:27
2. Rubén Pérez ST
3. Julian Dean Garmin ST
...
13. Aitor Galdós ST
38. Jorge Azanza ST
71. Sergio De Lis ST
82. Amets Txurruka ST
95. Igor Anton ST
96. Mikel Nieve ST
100. Mikel Astarloza ST

Results Stage 3
1. Frantisek Rabon Columbia 19:17
2. Bert Grabsch Colubmia +0:19
3. Denis Menchov Rabobank +0:25
...
24. Mikel Astarloza +1:08
31. Rubén Pérez +1:15
36. Sergio De Lis +1:21
59. Igor Anton +1:53
64. Jorge Azanza +1:55
66. Amets Txurruka +1:57
74. Aitor Galdos +2:10
84. Mikel Nieve +2:28

Results Stage 4
1. Rubén Plaza Liberty Seguros 4:09:34
2. José Herrada Lopéz Contentpolis ST
3. Denis Menchov Rabobank ST
...
9. Mikel Nieve ST
31. Amets Txurruka +11:31
45. Rubén Pérez +18:03
48. Jorge Azanza +18:03
90. Sergio De Lis +26:51
91. Igor Antón +26:51
92. Aitor Galdós +26:51
95. Mikel Astarloza +26:51

General Classification
1. Denis Menchov Rabobank 11:43:20
2. Rubén Plaza Liberty Seguros +0:20
3. Pieter Weening Rabobank +0:35
...
17. Mikel Nieve +3:52
30. Amets Txurruka +14:52
37. Rubén Pérez +18:53
45. Jorge Azanza +19:33
63. Mikel Astarloza +27:34
65. Sergio De Lis +27:47
78. Igor Antón +30:08
82. Aitor Galdós +30:25

A new sprinter is born: Rubén Pérez!!

2009-03-04T22:54:00.004+01:00

Something incredible happened today in the first stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia, a new sprinter was born. Although Euskaltel has a team with Aitor Galdos, normally the second best sprinter of the team after Koldo, it was Rubén Pérez who got among the best sprinters and finished third after Graeme Brown and Greg Henderson, leaving strong sprinters like Goss, Paolioni and Leezer behind him. Hopefully Rubén will now get the affirmation and believe that he's a real sprinter and that he can even win races!

Results
1. Graeme Brown Rabobank 5:06:37
2. Greg Henderson Columbia ST
3. Ruben Perez Euskaltel ST
...
18. Jorge Azanza ST
23. Mikel Astaroza ST
37. Sergio De Lis ST
68. Amets Txurruka +1:49
73. Mikel Nieve +1:49
86. Aitor Galdos +1:49
87. Igor Anton +1:49

Ruben 5th in Almeria after nervous race

2009-03-01T22:25:00.002+01:00

The Clásica Alméria became a very nervous race this year. In the early phase a lot of attacks were started with Mikel Astarloza, Koldo Fernandez and Amets Txurruka all trying to get away, without any luck. There were also a lot of falls with in one of them Koldo Fernandez and Sergio de Lis as victims. They were taken to the hospital but only some bruises were diagnosed. At the end 35 riders battled it out for the victory but due to another fall it didn't became a big sprint. Ruben Perez although got in front and managed to place himself as a great 5th in the same time as winner Greg Henderson.

Results
1. Greg Henderson Team Columbia 4:02:45
2. Graeme Brown Rabobank ST
3. Stefano Garzelli Acqua & Sapone ST
...
5. Rubén Pérez ST
50. Jorge Azanza +8:55
51. Mikel Astarloza +8:55
69. Amets Txurruka +8:55
72. Mikel Nieve +8:55
78. Igor Anton +8:55

Tomorrow Clásica de Almeria

2009-02-28T10:46:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow Euskaltel will participate with a very strong team in the Clásica de Almeria. Our biggest hope is probably Koldo Fernandez, who became fourth last year, if he gets over the mountains, but that doesn't seem a big problem. Others to watch Mikel Astarloza, Igor Anton, Mikel Nieve, Sergio de Lis, Amets Txurruka, Ruben Perez and Jorge Azanza.

Koldo fails in ultimate stage Algarve

2009-02-24T19:22:00.002+01:00

Euskaltel ended with a fade out in the Volta ao Portugal. No man tried to attack and in the final sprint Koldo couldn't do what he did before and win the stage. In stead Heinrich Haussler took the victory and Koldo became 13th. Due to this bad performance he missed the sprint classification. Markel Irizar became the best one overall with a 16th spot.

Results
1. Heinrich Haussler Cervelo 4:16:04
2. Greg Van Avermaet Silence ST
3. Wouter Weylandt ST
...
13. Koldo Fernandez ST
24. Iñaki Isasi ST
38. Egoi Martinez ST
39. Ruben Perez ST
50. Pablo Urtasun ST
56. Markel Irizar ST
84. Gorka Verdugo ST
144. Alan Perez ST

Final Rank
1. Alberto Contador Astana 19:94:22
2. Sylvain Chavanel Quick Step +1:06
3. Ruben Plaza Liberty Seguros +1:07
...
16. Markel Irizar +2:34
18. Egoi Martinez +2:58
19. Gorka Verdugo +3:03
40. Ruben Perez +5:36
88. Alan Perez +9:33
108. Iñaki Isasi +12:06
125. Koldo Fernandez +20:23
127. Pablo Urtasun +20:30

Markel 15th in TT Algarve

2009-02-22T10:22:00.003+01:00

The Volta ao Algarve was already up to its fourth stage, a time trial from Castro Marin to Tavira. Euskaltel did a pretty good job with two guys in the top twenty. Markel Irizar finished on the 15th spot, Egoi Martinez on the 19th. In the general rank Markel is now 16th, Egoi 18th and Gorka 19th. Koldo is still leading the sprint classification.

Results
1. Alberto Contador Astana 0:44:05
2. Sylvain Chavanel +0:33
3. Andreas Klöden +0:36
...
15. Markel Irizar +1:41
19. Egoi Martinez +2:05
28. Gorka Verdugo +2:35
44. Pablo Urtasun +3:27
47. Iñaki Isasi +3:37
54. Ruben Perez +3:51
62. Koldo Fernandez +4:15
69. Alan Perez +4:22