Izagirre finishes 10th in Haut-Var

Gorka Izagirre put in another solid ride to claim 10th place overall in the Tour de Haut-Var today. The aggressive Ormaiztegi native was always there of thereabouts in the finale of today's hilly second stage, but in the end had to settle for 16th at 54 seconds down on winner Antomarchi. The other Euskaltel riders didn't fare so well, though, with Minguez and Castroviejo finishing 7:59 back and Martinez, Velasco and Nieve finishing 10:35 down. Along with a host of other riders, Antón and Cazaux threw in the towel underway. As mentioned, these results lead to a good 10th for Izagirre overall, while Castroviejo was 57th, Velasco 74th, Minguez 78th, Martínez 89th and Nieve 82nd. Overall a slightly disappointing Haut-Var for the team. Besides Izagirre, no one were ever close to fight for the win or yet alone animate the race. It's still February, though, so no need to panic just yet, and I expect we'll see a stronger team all-round in Paris-Nice in a few weeks.