New Year wrap

• Naturgas Energía prepared for the season ahead with what must be the shortest training camp they've ever done in Derio this week. All the riders, including new French recruits Karl Baudron, Damien Garcia and Loïc Chetout, got together for a two-day camp at Fundación Euskadi headquarters in Derio this Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Aitor Hernández is going from strength to strength on the 'cross circuit. Yesterday he grabbed his third win of the year in a race in Itsasondo, besting Orbea mountain biker Iñaki Lejarreta and top Spaniard Javier Ruiz de Larriñaga.
• Not surprisingly, Igor Antón was elected "Athlete of the year" in his home region of Bizkaia here the other day. The merculiar climber beat several top-class athletes across various sports to take home the prize handed out by the Prensa Deportiva de Bizkaia. Euskaltel were also honoured for their much-documented best-ever season, at least numbers-wise, at the Gala del Deporte.
• Alán Pérez and Juan José Oroz both attended and spoke at a gathering organized by the cycling club in Estella (also known as Lizarra) a couple of days ago, a small town just south of Pamplona. The two riders both hail from the region and were joined by Bizkaia-Durango rider Cristina Alcalde and Joana Eslava of Reyno de Navarra.