Euskaltel until 2010

The great news is just in: Basque telecommunication giant Euskaltel has extended it`s sponsorship deal with the Euskaltel-Euskadi team until 2010. That means at least three more years for the orange-clad heroes from the Basque country.

Landaluze: "I signed under pressure"

Iñigo Landaluze has confirmed what I`ve been afraid of for some time now, that he, along with the rest of the Euskaltel riders, has signed UCI`s anti-doping agreement under pressure from the UCI itself, race sponsors etc. He said to DEIA that the UCI could have done better work on the chart, and that he`s afraid it`s not legal. He didn`t sign it out of his own will, something which I have to admit is a bit worrying.

New Iban video

I just found this really cool video of Iban in the Dauphiné last year, on the stage where he placed second behind breakaway-member Ludovic Turpin. It`s something like 5 minutes long, and covers all the drama of the stage. Definetely worth to watch: http://www.dailymotion.com/juju007/video/x16ldg_iban-mayo-dauphine-2006

Good Euskaltel performance in nationals

Euskaltel enjoyed a good showing in the Spanish National Championship road race today. Amets Txurruka got an excellent 8th place, while Jon Bru and Iban Mayoz were also well ahead and placed 12th and 19th respectively. In addition, Iban Mayoz and Juanjo Oroz were present in breaks throughout the day, so they can be proud of their achievements today. Results:

• 8th, Amets Txurruka, 0:22
• 12th, Jon Bru, 0:25
• 19th, Iban Mayoz, 0:30
• 38th, Juanjo Oroz, 0:52
• 81st, Beñat Albizuri, 1:03
• 96th, Markel Irizar, 1:55
• 101st, Iñaki Isasi, 1:55
• 122nd, Alán Pérez, 3:27

The five others who took to the start in Cuenca today abandoned.

Iban interview

I decided to translate a whole interview with Iban from Spanish to English just for you. It`s a lot of work, so I hope you`ll enjoy it. Read on to find out more about Iban`s Tour preparations, his form, his ambitions etc. From El Correo:

• El Correo: You go to the Tour this year on the back of a stage-win in the Giro. Are you more relaxed this year compared to other years?
• Iban: Yeah, that win gave me desire to keep on doing my job. To win in this sport gives you a lot of illusions, so my moral is definetely intact.
• El Correo: Is that one of your objectives in the Tour? To win another stage?
• Iban: Yes. I finished the Giro feeling fresh, and I want to do the same in the Tour. I know that if I win a stage, I`ve done a good race. It`s necessary to wait for, and to take advantage of, that day (when it`s possible for me to win).
• El Correo: Have you stopped riding for the GC?
• Iban: Yes, I have. I prefer to go for stages. In the Giro, I could perhaps have ended up among the 15 best, but at the end of the day it`s more important to win a stage. It`s got more importance. Who remembers the name of the rider in fourth place? The fans and the spectators remember the riders who win in the mountains. In addition, if you go for a high overall placing, you can lose it all on one bad day.
• El Correo: Your team, Saunier Duval, arrives at the Tour with more than 20 victories so far already this season. The team has kind of done it all, they`ve done more than expected.
• Iban: In the Giro, Simoni was the unquestionable leader. However, for the Tour we don`t have a candidate for the overall. Because of that, we go to the Tour with a different mentality. We`ll go for stage-wins. With Millar, we have a great chance of winning the prologue. The rest of us will try to be protagonists, like De La Fuente was last year.
• El Correo: In last year`s Tour, you abandoned in Viella, on the stage which ended on the Plá de Beret. Is it still difficult and hard to think about it?
• Iban: Man, the retirement affected me a lot then. It hurt. I felt very down. But, I came back. Now I go the Tour with different illusions.
• El Correo: Is that the badest memory of last year`s race?
• Iban: Yes, it was surely the badest. I felt good coming in to the Tour, but it all went bad. I could not keep up with the pace. It was the same that had happened in other editions of the Tour. I`ve thought a lot about it. I know that I can`t get any worse than that, so no matter what I do this time around, it can only get better.
• El Correo: What does the psychological element in cycling mean to you?
• Iban: It affects me. When things go badly.... The confidence is fundamental. When I feel good, I try to be a protagonist and to hunt for stages. But when I`m bad, yeah, perhaps I get a little down. I`m a fighter on the bike.
• El Correo: What`s changed since you turned pro in 2000?
• Iban: A lot. Now the pressure affects me. And I value more and more the people who are always with me. I see everything more tranquillo. You learn that some people you like, and some people you don`t.
• El Correo: Have you noticed less support than earlier when you rode for Euskaltel?
• Iban: People support me just as much. Nobody has ever said anything about me leaving Euskaltel. I know that Euskaltel is like Athletic (Bilbao). It`s the local team. But in cycling the fans are more dedicated to riders than to teams. The ones who supported me before, support me now.
• El Correo: Are you the rider you hoped to become?
• Iban: I`ve won more races and done greater things than I ever thought was possible when I started out. When I made my debut as a pro, the others were much better than me. But then suddenly I started winning races I never even thought about winning. But, is`s true, when I won those big races, I saw myself winning things I haven`t been able to win. But, right now, I`m content with my palmarès. I`ve won more than I thought I would.
• El Correo: There`s one win missing though; a stage in the Pyrenees in front of the fans.
• Iban: Yeah, that`s true. If I won a stage in the Pyrenees, I could have retired straight away being happy with what I`ve done. Years ago, people spoke of me as a future Tour winner. But I can`t do it. For that reason, a stage-win would make me happy.
• El Correo: Especially if you win the stage that crosses the border into Navarra, the stage with the Larrau and the Aubisque.
• Iban: That`s true. I went to see that stage, and to ride parts of it. It`s the hardest stage of the Tour. The Larrau is a terrible climb. You suffer. It wouldn`t be bad if I was a protagonist there. I feel better now than in the Giro, but I guess everyone is feeling good coming in to the Tour. The competition will be harder here than in the Giro.
• El Correo: The Tour started last year with the exclusions of Mancebo, Ullrich, Basso, Astana and Sevilla. Though, it turned out to be a spectacular race with unexpected twists. The spectators again felt captivated by the racing. But, the bad thing happened three days after the race came to an end, as Landis returned a positive test.
• Iban: Yeah, people like to see races like last year`s Tour. It`s not interesting with a totally dominating rider. The spectators prefer to see riders failing, and then returning. I like that kind of racing. Last year`s race was attractive to watch, with entertaining riders.
• El Correo: Like Iban Mayo...
• Iban: The good thing is that there are several rider with a chance to win. The viewers like to see that the riders are human beings after all, as that`s a great spectacle. When it comes to me... It`s good for the show that the riders have to go through bad moments, but when it happens to me, they`re perhaps too bad.

Iban further talked a bit about the state cycling is in at the moment, and that everyone is to blame for it really. He`s concerned about the future of cycling, and the last thing he said was: "The truth is that I see a quite dark future for our sport".

Iban to focus on stages

Iban will go for stages in this year`s Tour, not the overall. Iban said this to DEIA yesterday, stating: "Through the years I`ve learned what the Tour is about. I will not go for the GC. If I could choose between a stage-win and a fourth or fifth place on GC, I would have chosen the stage-win. Everybody remembers me from 2003 because of my win on the Alpe d`Huez, not because I was 6th overall. I`ll do the Tour in hope of winning a stage, but if the opportunity of a high overall placing arises, I`ll perhaps take both. I showed this in the Giro; if I had given it my all every day, I could have ended up between the first 15 on GC, but, in the end, a stage-win was better for me".

Iban unhappy with anti-doping chart

Iban has stated his disapproval of UCI`s new anti-doping chart. Speaking exclusively to DEIA yesterday, Iban said: "I don`t want to (sign the decleration). But there`s no option. If I don`t, I won`t be able to ride the Tour, the team wouldn`t renew my contract, and it would leave me unemployed. It`s sad, but we just have to do what the UCI tells us, it`s like we don`t have a mind of our own".

Markel disappointing in NC TT

Markel Irizar, Euskaltel`s only representative in the National Championship time trial, did not ride as well as hoped today. It was hoped and believed that Markel could maybe get a top 5 spot if everything worked, but sadly, nothing worked for him today. Markel finished the race in 23rd place, a full 5:52 adrift. Markel himself wasn`t exactly pleased after the race to put it like that. "I wasn`t good", he told www.fundacioneuskadi.com, "before the start I wanted to make a good race and to be close to the best ones. But the time I clocked wasn`t any good. It was a very hard time trial, with many ascents and descents, not to mention the wind... It was too long for me, and I suffered badly, especially as my legs weren`t up for it. I`m not content with my performance, but all I can do now is to relax and focus on Sunday`s road race, where I hope to do better".

No NC for Iban confirmed

Saunier Duval published a list of 13 riders who`ll ride the Spanish National Championship road race on Sunday, and Iban did not figure. Neither does heavy-hitters like Gil or Marchante. I seriously don`t know why Iban won`t take part, and I think it`s a shame really. The course suits him, it`s a prestigious race, and, most importantly, it would have given him a chance to compete. Competition would certainly benefit Iban at this moment I think, as he hasn`t been competing since the Giro, and the Tour is due to start in a week. Such a hard race would also give him a clue as to where he stands compared to other Tour contenders, so that his form won`t be an unknown coming into the Tour. But, well, I guess once again that Iban and his Saunier chiefs know what they`re doing.

No NC for Iban after all?

According to Es Cislismo today, Iban won`t ride the Spanish National Championship road race on Sunday. Iban has been on the start list for some time now, so where they have got this info from, I don`t know. I guess I`ll know more by tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Iban to sign chart tomorrow?

11 Saunier Duval riders have signed the anti-doping agreement at the time being. Iban is not one of them, yet, but 4 of the 11 are on the Tour team; Cobo, Rinero, Cañada and Millar. The other 7 are: Simoni, Riccó, Wielinga, Alarcon, Zarate, Gómez Gómez and Trentin. An article on the trustworthy www.esciclismo.com says that the Saunier Duval management will discuss this controversial document all riders must sign if they are to participate in the Tour tomorrow, and if all Saunier riders will have sign it. Some of the riders, with José Ángel Gómez Marchante in particular, have voiced their disapproval of the agreement, so what the outcome of tomorrow`s meeting will be is still up in the air. Though, I`m quite sure all the Tour riders at least will have signed it by tomorrow, including Iban. I`ll check the list of riders who`ve signed the chart all evening and until Iban signs it to look for updates, so be sure to tune in to Iban Mayo Blog for the latest on this case.

Iban to lead Saunier as Marchante drops out

Iban will likely now lead the Saunier Duval team in the Tour, as Gómez Marchante won`t take to the start. Marchante is suffering from an "intestine disease", as Saunier`s homepage reported, and that will likely lead to Iban getting a lot of support in the mountains. Marchante was supposed to be Saunier`s man for the GC, but now most of the focus will be on Iban winning a stage in stead. David Cañada Gracia will replace Marchante.

Euskaltel ready for the Tour

The UCI has now officially confirmed that the Euskaltel team that will take part in the Tour has signed the anti-doping chart. On their list of riders who have signed the commitment, all 9 Tour riders, together with reserve Juanjo Oroz, figure. That`s good news for sure, and I`m expecting more Euskaltel riders to sign shortly.

Tour team sign anti-doping chart

All 9 Euskaltel riders who will ride the Tour, together with reserve Juanjo Oroz, have signed the UCI`s new anti-doping agreement, thereby enabling them to take to the start in London next Saturday. Though, the documents signed by the 10 riders haven`t been sent to the UCI yet. But, they will...