Notes

• Orbea did not succeed in setting the GP Indurain alight yesterday. The youngsters failed in getting into the big moves of the day and Victor Cabedo was eventually their highest finisher in 32nd place at 2:03. Martín was 59th, García 63rd, Bizkarra 65th and Etxebarria 67th.


• Samu Sánchez has revealed he can picture himself staying in cycling after hanging up the wheels. Still only 33, retirement is hopefully some way off, but speaking to El Correo he says he might stay in the sport when that day inevitably comes. "Yeah, I would like to stay involved in cycling", he said. "Either as a manager or a sports director, organizing a team. I love the sport, I'm experienced and cycling has always been my passion. But right now I'm 100% focused on my riding".


• Naturgas went one-two in the third and final race of the Torneo Apertura series in Amorebieta earlier today. After a five-man break including reds duo Chetôut and Ardaiz had been caught, another five riders went clear close to the finish. Among the quintet were Barbero and Guinea, and impressively the former took first and the latter second in the sprint. Ardaiz rounded off a superb team performance by claiming sixth, and naturally the team took out the team classification. After prevailing in the series' opener in Ereño, Fernando Grijalba took out the overall win in this particular competition. The Torneo Apertura is reserved for 19 and 20-year-olds.


• Naturgas didn't dominate Saturday's Clásica San Ronkillo in Balmaseda the same way as they did in Amorebieta today. Results: Larrinaga 11th, Merino 13th, García 29th, González 54th and Martínez 56th.


• The reds only managed to place one rider inside the top 20 in the prestigious Memorial Valenciaga in Eibar today. The one-day classic saw Álex Bilbao getting into an early move but disappointingly it didn't go anywhere. After that the Naturgas riders didn't really have the strength or stamina to animate the race, Merino being the strongest of the red brigade in 14th place, a full 2:10 down on solo winner Evgeny Shalunov who totally annihilated the competition.


• La Fundación Euskadi teamed up with the Vincente Ferrer Foundation recently, an organization striving to improve poor and disadvantaged kid's lifes and future prospects in India, to donate Euskaltel jerseys and Catlike helmets to kids in Anantapur and Bombay. Click http://fundacioneuskadi.com/pag/ca_fundacion_noticias_detalle.asp?cod=1&cod2=8&ocultar=1&ocultarp=1&Id=2430&cboanyo=2011&cbomes=4 for more info.