Line-ups Luxemburg & Dauphiné Libéré

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

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

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

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

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 :(

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.