Beijing stage 5 & Paris-Tours

Antón (and the rest of the riders) came through today's final Beijing stage unscathed and thus won the inaugural event's climber's jersey. Which - gastroenteritis and all considered - is quite the achievement. The opening-day time trial, which obviously didn't turn out too good, proved decisive for the final overall standings. As a consequence no vital WorldTour-points were obtained.

Álan Pérez once again tried to get in on the action in the sprint but had to settle for 24th. On GC Anton was 40th, Nieve finished 50th, Samu 51st, Astarloza 63rd, Txurruka 65th, Pérez 68th, Landa 71st and Izagirre 86th. Euskaltel finished 11th in the team rankings.

Paris-Tours was once again everything but a happy hunting ground for the team. The riders failed to get into the main breaks and only three out of eight finished the event. One of those was Isasi, who bid farewell to his 11-year career today. The versatile sprinter came home 87th flanked by Jorge Azanza and Juanjo Oroz 15:11 down on winner Van Avermaet. Isasi will next year step into the role of directeur sportif.