Pello Bilbao signs for Orbea

As I predicted he would quite a few months back, Pello Bilbao has made the move from Sub-23 outfit Naturgas to Euskaltel's feeder-team Orbea. The 19-year-old climber, who grabbed four wins to go with the overall Torneo Sub-23 classification in a highly successful campaign, has been touted by experts as a future climbing great in the professional peloton. Pello will now get to cut his teeth among the pros as of next season. Watch out for him to make quite an impression. Mikel Bizkarra, who's also enjoyed a break-out year, is likely to join him at Orbea. More on Bizkarra's potential move later on.

Naturgas end season in Cantabria

Naturgas Energía are officially done for the season. The Vuelta a Cantabria, which ended on Sunday, was the last race on their calendar, and the youngsters will now get to take a well-earned rest during the winter. Cantabria was hard for the team. Bad weather marred the event, but the guys in red still didn't hide in the pack and were in the main break every single day. Grijalba, who enjoyed a great start to the year and who's looked strong throughout the campaign, got into the moves on day one and three, while Aitor Ocampos, who's also stood out from the rest, got in on the action on the second day. Top results were hard to come by, though, with Carlos Barbero's seventh on stage three the best result. On GC, Ocampos was best of the bunch in 21st, while Grijalba was 48th, Barbero 55th, Legarra 69th and Carazo 80th. Aritz Bagües, who's penned a deal with Orbea for next season, placed a strong sixth just behind a certain Moises Dueñas (You still remember that guy, right?), so he looks to be the real deal. DS at Naturgas, Iñigo Urretxua, was pleased eventhough the team left the race without any results to show for their efforts. "We've been aggressive and protagonists every day", he told la Fundación Euskadi's website. "We conclude our season on a high."

Languedoc-Roussillon wrap

The three-day Tour de Gévaudan Languedoc-Roussillon stage-race in France came to a close today. Orbea sent a potent six-man squad to the event and came within wiskers of taking out the opening-day team time trial. Over a ridiculously short 1,3km course, the team lost out by a few hundreths of a second to Team Vulco to finish an agonizing second. But no matter how bitter, it was still an excellent ride. But that was as good as it got for the guys in blue really, as they struggled to impose themselves on the following two stages. Joseba Larralde finished highest in 22nd place on the hilly second stage, 5:08 down. Xabier Zabalo ad Jon Izagirre were 33rd and 34th respectively at 12:43, Andoni Blázquez and Noel Martín ended up 55th and 56th at 20:15, while Aritz Etxebarria found the going way too tough, crossing the line in 88th place, a full 45:34 in arrears. Day three was equally tough on the riders with the stage going to the top of the Montée Laurent Jalabert in Mende. The guys fared better though, Zabalo grabbing a fine 16th at 1:12. Martín was 25th at 13 seconds further back, while Blázquez was another seven seconds adrift. Larralde was 37th at 2:05, Etxebarria 40th at 2:21, while Izagirre junior came in with the last group at 7:25. Naturally these results didn't make for high overall placings, with Larralde 22nd, Zabal 29th, Izagirre 37th, Martín 42nd, Blázquez 43rd and Etxebarria 69th. In the team rankings, Orbea grabbed eighth out of the 13 participating teams. While the riders struggled on the hilly stages, the team chiefs, led by the excellent Álex Díaz, will no doubt be encouraged by the team's super ride in the TTT.

Koldo eyeing Paris-Bourges

Tour de Vendée conqueror Koldo Fernández was content when speaking to the press after his impressive win today, saying: "I'm very pleased; it's hard to win bike races. It's difficult to win, so when you do it's important you enjoy it. Doing the Vuelta a España gives you great form. I've been able to rest this week, so I knew I came here with good form". Speaking on the remainder of the season, the modest speedster said: "The next objective in Paris-Bourges, we'll see how that goes, but first I'll savour this triumph. Being in the shape I'm in right now, it's a pain that I wasn't selected for the Worlds. But thinking about it is not worth the trouble. I lacked consistency in the first part of the season. I didn't have luck on my side after the ear infection and before the falls, but I've been more consistent in the second part and the results have come. Besides the two victories, I've been second six times, one of them in the Vuelta a España. If I'd beaten Farrar that day, it would have been an even more spectacular Vuelta. But to finish the season like this gives me strength to prepare for 2011. The worked flawlessly. We've had a great year."

Orbea trio prolong

Jon Aberasturi, Ricardo García and Adrián Sáez de Arregi have all decided to extend their stays with Orbea. The former joined from Naturgas ahead of the current season and has shown considerable promise in sprint finishes. García will embark on his third year with the team if I'm not mistaken, and will look to take that much-longed for step up in performance in 2011. The latter came across from Caja Rural in time for the 2010 season, and will hope to build on experiences acquired in his first season. The trio all penned one-year deals - as is the norm at Euskaltel's feeder-team.

Koldo repeats Vendée trick

Vendée is officially Koldo's happy hunting ground. The sprinter, who rarely wins outside his homeland, repeated his 2008 feat by sprinting to victory in the Tour de Vendée today. The Alava native beat emerging speedster Appollonio into second by quite a substantial margin at the end of the 1.HC race, taking the team's tally of wins this year to an unprecedented 17. Speaking after the race, the amiable Koldo made an interesting point in comparing the Vendée region to the hilly Basque Country. "It's the second time I've won here, and I imagine that is because the Vendée region is like Euskadi; it's similar to the Basque Country. It was a difficult sprint 'cause I was on (Jimmy) Casper's wheel, and suddenly Haussler and Apollonio jumped. The got a 25-meter gap, but I succeeded in catching and then passing them." The whole team did their best to keep Koldo out of the wind and help him in the closing kilometres today. JJ Oroz and Nieve both stayed with the 27-man peloton 'till the line, while Txurruka was 11 seconds down in 31st place. Aramendía and Urtasun ended up 44 seconds in arrears, while young duo Izagirre and Castroviejo called it quits underway.

Stars turn out for Sagasti tribute

A host of former and current stars of the sport yesterday turned out in Mungia for a tribute to the late Agustín Sagasti. Sagasti, who'll forever be remembered as the rider who took Euskaltel's, or the Equipo Euskadi as it was known back then, very first win back in 1994, committed suicide in november of last year at the tender age of 39. A family-led tribute took place in his hometown of Mungia, Vizcaya, yesterday, and several cycling celebrities took the time to show up in respect of the man who's career was cruely cut short in only his second year as a pro when he got run over by a car while doing the Vuelta a los Valles Mineros in Asturias. Team heads Madariaga and Galdeano were there, and so too were former climbing ace Roberto Laiseka, a crocked Igor Antón, former DS Julián Gorospe, Spanish cycling great Marino Lejarreta, masseur Gabino Ereñozaga, former football 'keeper legend José Ángel Iribar of Bilbao and Spain fame, and former punchy rider Mikel Artetxe. Quite a star-studded line-up. Speaking to DEIA afterwards, Igor Antón said: "Not only did he take the team's first victory. After his retirement, he was also seleccionador for the Basque Cycling Federation where he did fantastic work for this sport".

Naturgas six for Cantabria

Just like big brother Orbea, Naturgas Energía will field a six-man squad for a three-day stage race over the weekend. The youngest team in the Euskaltel-Orbea-Naturgas chain will line up for the Vuelta a Cantabria with the following six riders: Urtzi Legarra, Fernando Grijalba, Carlos Barbero, Álex Bilbao, Aitor Ocampos and Efrén Carazo. The level of the participating teams is quite high, so don't expect fireworks from the boys in red. But look out for Carazo and Ocampos in particular; they look to have something left in the tank to perform well. And also keep an eye out for former Euskaltel rider Andoni Lafuente who'll be lining up with his Cespa-Euskadi team, an outfit which does the most of its riding on the track. He never really kick-started his career with Euskaltel eventhough he showed some promising signs in a few mass sprints. He'll put his stamp on the race no doubt.

Orbea ready for Languedoc test

Orbea will send a versatile six-man squad to the Tour de Gévaudan Languedoc-Roussillon, starting today and running through Sunday. DS Díaz will field Andoni Blázquez, Noel Martín, Joseba Larralde, Xabier Zabalo, Aritz Etxebarria and Jon Izagirre. The latter will look to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on selection for Worlds, while the other five will try to squeeze out the last bit of form they might have left this late in the season.

Vendée: Intxausti out, Urtasun in

As expected, Beñat Intxausti will not feature in the Tour de Vendée on Sunday. His place will be taken by the on-form Pablo Urtasun, who'll look to lend Koldo a hand in the likely scenario of a sprint finish. Full line-up: Amets Txurruka, Mikel Nieve, Koldo Fernández, Gorka Izagirre, Pablo Urtasun, Javier Aramendía, JJ Oroz and Jonathan Castroviejo.

Euskaltel non grata in Paris-Tours

Euskaltel have been left off the list of invited teams for the fall's penultimate big one-day race; the Paris-Tours. Organiser ASO opted to invite Continental teams BigMat-Auber, Bretagne-Schuller and Roubaix Lille-Métropole for the so-called 'Sprinters' Classic', in the process leaving Pro Tour outfits Euskaltel, Astana and Footon-Servetto in the cold. Obviously not good news, but I can't say it's too big a deal, it's not like we had any candidates for the win or anything. Koldo will be disappointed for sure, and so too will guys like Aramendía and Izagirre who were likely to get the nod from Galdeano & co., but there's always next year.

Euskaltel sign Frenchman

According to several reliable sources, Euskaltel have signed Frenchman Pierre Cazaux on a two-year-deal. The 26-year-old hails from Saint-Palais, a small village close to Bayonne in the Basque part of southwestern France, and thus qualifies as 'Basque' in the same way Romain Sicard does and Thierry Elissalde did. The all-rounder turned pro at the relatively late age of 23, joining French outfit Roubaix-Lille Métropole, with whom he stayed till the end of the 2009 season before joining the Pro Tour in FDJ colours. What's odd with this case is that Euskaltel have not confirmed the transfer. The news were intitially leaked on the French Cycling Federation's website before being picked up by several cycling sites. Bici Ciclismo contacted team head Galdeano to get it all confirmed, to which Igor replied: "At the moment there's nothing (on the transfer-front)". Weird. More on the story as it unfolds.

Vendée team released

Euskaltel will take part in Sunday's French Cup-race Tour de Vendée; a one-day event in and around Bbox Bouygues Telecom's homeland in northwestern France. Koldo Fernández took out this race two years ago, so he'll be back in the hope of grabbing just his second win of the season. He'll have ample support if the likely scenario of a sprint unfolds, as Javier Aramendía and Gorka Izagirre will both line up. Vuelta hero Nieve is slated in for a start, and so too is fellow Vuelta participants Oroz and Txurruka. Jonathan Castroviejo is also on the list, as is Beñat Intxausti. In light of his horror-show in Spain I'm not sure that will happen, but at least he's on the list sent to the organiser. I'm expecting the Euskaltel chiefs to change the team slightly, so some of these eight riders may be forced to sit out and some other riders may come in. Stay tuned.

Vuelta comes to a close

The last stage of the Vuelta a España concluded today with the total drag that is a final stage in a GT. The 85km stage to Madrid obviously ended in a mad dash for the line, while there were no major changes to GC. Farrar impressively bested Cavendish, while Koldo couldn't muster better than 13th. I was quietly optimistic Koldo might be able to spring a surprise today, but it wasn't to be. Nieve and co. all came through the stage safe and sound, meaning the final GC looks like this:

• 12th, Mikel Nieve
• 31st, Amets Txurruka
• 56th, Juan José Oroz
• 84th, Gorka Verdugo
• 101st, Pablo Urtasun
• 141st, Koldo Fernández

As a team Euskaltel finished eighth, which is actually quite sensational given Igor's abandonment while in red, and Beñat's no-show. Sign of strength in depth no doubt. Beñat is currently undergoing some tests to figure out exactly what's wrong. I'm thinking mononocleosis or something in that direction, but obviously I'm no doctor. But Beñat being Ibán Mayo reincarnate, mono would be fitting... Anyway, Amets got stronger as the race unfolded and looks something like his former self, rediscovering his climbing legs and all. He's Euskaltel's Robin van Persie, always getting injured when approaching top form, so if he can stear clear of collarbone breaks and illness for the remainder of the season, he should be due a standout season in 2011. Mikel was obviously the revelation of the race; finally Euskaltel have uncovered another climbing ace. Verdugo and Oroz were evidently off top form after peaking for the Tour, but they still did themselves and the team proud through some unselfish and inspiring team-work. Egoi Martínez didn't really get the time to show his credentials due to the crash, while the sprinting department of Koldo and Pablo had their chances of success compromised by having to ride in support of Igor for large portions of the race. You won't hear them complaining, though... All in all a fabulous performance all round, full stop.