"It was an easy choice"

Iñaki Isasi's career will be over in a few weeks' time, but the long-serving all-rounder in not dwelling on it. Being offered a job as a directeur sportif was an offer he simply couldn't turn down, he told DEIA.

"I didn't really need to think about it that long; this opportunity was not to be missed. I'm getting older, so it's a no-brainer really. I'm happy with my choice. But I was surprised though. Suddenly you realize you've only got a few races left in your career and you'll life will change. I'll miss the bike. Doing sports everyday is what I always dreamed of doing and now that's gone. But everything must come to an end, and top-level competition is one of them. Perhaps it comes to an end a bit sooner than I had expected, but then again I'm not young anymore. I wasn't really tired of it, but I'm looking forward to doing something different."

Reflecting on his 11-year career with Euskaltel, the versatile sprinter rates Igor Antón's win in Bilbao recently as one of the highlights of his career. "In recent times, the win in Bilbao and Igor's win in the Giro rank high. Also the races we won with Etxebarria, Laiseka and Mayo back in the day are highlights. They were important victories. From a personal point of view, getting third in a sprint in the Tour. It's annoying to finish without ever having won a race, but I've participated in many wins for the team and I've befriended a lot of people. I've been all over the world, so overall I'm very pleased."