14 riders head to Mallorca

Euskaltel will send a 14-man strong team to their European season-opener, the Mallorca Challenge. The five-stage race, where the teams can alternate their line-ups from day to day, will see Koldo, Igor Antón, Alán and Rubén Pérez, Aitor Galdós, Iván Velasco, Mikel Nieve, Amets Txurruka, Gorka Verdugo, Iñaki, Sergio De Lis, JJ Oroz, Jorge Azanza and Beñat trying to get an early-season win for the team. The race starts this Sunday and ends five days later. Look out for strong rides by Iván and Mikel in particular, as the pair looked to be climbing allright in Australia recently. I'm also anxious to see what kind of shape Igor and Koldo are in this time of year. My bet is on one stage-win for Koldo and one second place, while Iván grabs a top-10 place on GC.