Iban Velasco man of the moment

Iban Velasco enjoyed a brilliant day in the spotlight today in the first stage of the Paris-Nice. Iban jumped on the attack with 3 French riders immediately after the official start, and stayed out for almost 180 kms. The quartet were eventually reeled in with only 3 kms to go, and the sprinter teams set it up for a sprint-finish. All Euskaltel riders but Iban came in with the main peloton. Iban came in 22 seconds back, but, anyway, it was a great day for him, and he showed what made Euskaltel take him on.

Iban finishes stage 1 in the peloton

Iban enjoyed an easy and comfortable day in the saddle today. Iban came in with the main peloton, placed 121st. Iban was to be seen close to the front most of the day, as Saunier Duval controlled the peloton admirably for overall leader David Millar.

Strong Euskaltel line-up for Tirreno-Adriatico

Euskaltel will send the following 8 riders to the 7-day Pro Tour stage-race Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy starting on Wednesday: Unai Etxebarria, Koldo Fernandez, Jon Bru, Beñat Albizuri, Antton Luengo, Iban Mayoz, Aketza Peña and Aitor Hernandez. With most of the riders already in convincing shape, this seems like a strong Euskaltel team on paper at least. According to www.fundacioneuskadi.com, Koldo will not surprisingly be the man for the sprints. Koldo will have the help of fellow fast-men Beñat Albizuri, Aitor Hernandez and Jon Bru on the flat and rolling stages. Unai Etxebarria will have a "free-card" to play in most stages. It`s expected that Unai will play his tricks on the slightly hilly stages, like he did with success in the recent Trofeo Calvia. Antton Luengo, Iban Mayoz and Aketza Peña will try their luck in breakaways mostly.

Iban off the pace

Iban did not live up to my expectations today in the prologue in Paris-Nice. Iban came home as nr. 140, 29 seconds behind winner and team-mate David Millar. Though, TTs tend not to say too much of Iban`s form, so watch out for him when the race reaches the mountains.

Good prologue by Euskaltel

The whole Euskaltel team did a quite good prologue today in the Paris-Nice. Samu Sánchez was the best placed Euskaltel rider, coming home in 23rd place, 9 seconds adrift of victor David Millar. Further on, Mikel Astarloza placed 33rd, 11 seconds back, on the same time as Andoni Aranaga, who came in 42nd. Markel Irizar came in 55th, 14 seconds adrift, Rúben Pérez 59th, 15 seconds adrift, Gorka Verdugo 66th, 16 seconds back, Alan Pérez 72nd, 17 seconds behind and Iban Velasco came home in 158th place, 37 seconds back. This solid racing landed Euskaltel a 10th place in the team rankings for the day.

Iban disappointing in prologue

If you are to judge upon Iban`s prologue in the Paris-Nice, Iban seems to be some way off his best form. Currently, with about 80 riders left to go, Iban lies in a very disappointing 107th place, a full 28 seconds back. Watch this space for further updates.

Antón in the break

Igor Antón formed part of t a three-man breakaway on today`s last stage of the Vuelta a Murcia. Igor escaped together with Luis Pasamontes and Jorge Perez. The three worked tirelessly, but were caught with 5 kms to go. The stage once again ended in a mass sprint, where none of the Euskaltel riders got any noteworthy results. Though, everyone came in with the peloton. Best placed Euskaltel rider on GC was Haimar Zubeldia, who finished 16th.

Expectations of Iban: Paris-Nice

Iban will start the much debated Paris-Nice on Sunday as one of Saunier Duval`s big hopes for the GC. The race is hilly enough, so I do have some expectations of Iban this time around.

Prologue: The race kicks-off with a very short prologue on the outskirts of Paris. We all know TTs, and especially prologues, isn`t Iban`s thing, if you know what I mean. Though, when on form, Iban has recorded several good results in short prologues, like his two prologue victories in the Dauphiné are a proof of. So, as Iban is expected to be on a competitive level, I expect him to finish in the top 30. Stage 1: A lon flat drag that will end in a mass-sprint. Iban will finish safe inside the pack. Stage 2: Another sprint-ending stage. If he avoids crashes and that sort of things, he`ll finish in the peloton. Stage 3: With a 2nd category climb coming 35 kms from the end, this could well be a stage where the overall standings are turned up-side-down. Though, with a down-hill finish I don`t expect Iban to win it. I hope to see Iban in the leading group, but I guess that`s not as easy as it sounds. This year`s Paris-Nice has a very strong field, and with Iban don`t expected to peak until May, it`s hard to predict. Though, I sincerely hope he`ll come in with the first group. Stage 4: With the stage ending on a 1st category top, I expect Iban to finish top 20 or something. Though, with Iban you never know. He can just as well win the stage, mark my words, but he can also finish mid-pack. A top 20 seems realistic. Stage 5: A 178 km-long hilly stage. Once again I expect Iban to be with the first group, but not to fight it out for the win. Stage 6: A very hilly stage, so my expectations are very similar to those on stage 5. Stage 7: The queen-stage, with no less than 3 1st category climbs on the menu.Though, as the stage finish comes 20 kms after the last top, Iban`s chances are reduced. But, if Iban is firing on all sylinders, he might fight it out for the stage win. Top 20 seems once again realistic.

Overall: A top-20 finish on GC is my bet. Though, Iban might well do way better than that. He might even sneak into the top-5 if he`s up for it. But my official bet will be 17th.

Bad day for Euskaltel; Antón 14th

Euskaltel did not have the best of days in Murcia today. The fourth stage, a TT of 23.3 kms from Alhama de Murcia to Aledo, saw the best placed Euskaltel rider come in 14th, that being Igor Antón. Especially Haimar Zubeldia was disappointing, as he was expected to fight for the win, but ended way down in 32nd. Haimar started out well, but faded drastically towards the end, and now lies 16th overall heading into the last stage. As mentioned, Igor got an okay 14th, Haimar 32nd, Jorge Azanza 35th, Iñigo Landaluze 41st, Unai Uribarri 45th, and Lander Aperribay came in 71st.

Ivan Velasco

• Full name: Ivan Velasco Murillo
  
• Date of birth: 07.02.1980
  
• Place of birth: Arrasate, Gipuzkoa
  
• Turned professional: 2006
  
• Joined Euskaltel: 2007
  
• Previous teams: Orbea (2006)
  
• Palmarès:

Iban Mayoz

• Full name: Iban Mayoz Etxeberria
• Date of birth: 30.09.1981
• Place of birth: San Sebastian/Donostia, Gipuzkoa
• Turned professional: 2004
• Joined Euskaltel: 2006
• Previous teams: Relax-Fuenlabrada
• Palmarès: none

Landaluze on the offensive

Iñigo Landaluze showed his form is intact with a long breakaway in today`s third stage of the Vuelta a Murcia. On the 146 km stage from Puerto Lumbreras to San Pedro Pinatar, Igor Antón tried to break clear early on, but was caught by a hard-chasing peloton. Though, after an hour of intensive racing, Iñigo broke clear with José Angel Gómez Marchante of Saunier Duval and Julian Sanchez of Relax-GAM. The three fought bravely to increase their advantage, though, with such big-hitters as Iñigo and Marchante, the peloton let them only get a miximum lead of 2:40. The three were eventually caught with no more than 5 kms to go, setting up for a grand-stand sprint-finish. None of the Euskaltel riders got in the mix in the sprint, but all but Unai Uribarri finished inside the main peloton. Currently, Haimar lies 11th overall going into the penultimate and potentially race-deciding TT tomorrow. Watch out for Haimar....

Second stage in Murcia cancelled

The second stage of the Vuelta a Murcia, scheduled for today, was eventually cancelled due to strong wind. Originally, the riders were supposed to ride 162 kms between Totana and Fortuna. Though, the unusually strong wind forced the race officials to shorten the stage. The riders were supposed to ride only the last 50 kms, but that was in the end cancelled off as well. The wind could prove to be dangerous, as it was yesterday, when a whole bunch of people crashed. The money that would have been awarded to the stage-winner was sent to Isaac Galvez`s family.

Isasi breaks collarbone; Galdos with backpains

Aitor Galdos and Iñaki Isasi underwent scans at the Hospital General Universidad Morales Meseguier de Murcia after falling and abandoning yesterday`s first stage in the Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia. The results were mixed for the two sprinters. Iñaki came out worst of the two, with a broken left collarbone. Aitor didn`t break anything, but has severe back pains. It`s still unsure when the two riders will return to racing action.