"The team will be strong in the final week"

Two weeks in, Euskaltel are yet to put a real mark on the Giro d'Italia. But with the mountains (finally) coming up, the man in the team car, former pro Álvaro González de Galdeano, is quietly optimistic. And with a relatively clean bill of health, there's hardly a reason not to.

"So far, we've worked to get in the breaks and being protagonists. After a slightly hesitant start, in which we didn't do too well in the time trials, we've improved and been active. All in all I'm satisfied with the first two weeks", he told the team's website, www.fundacioneuskadi.com.

"There's been 11 road stages and, unsurprisingly, we've been in breaks on six of those. Minguez, Cazaux, Sáez and Txurruka have all been up the road, and Velasco's recovery from his stage ten crash makes me believe we'll be strong in the final week and able to help out Nieve. Oroz and Izagirre's work for Nieve makes us confident".

Looking forward to the two mountainous stages coming up tomorrow and on Sunday, Galdeano believes the weather may play a decisive role in deciding the outcome.

"The cold may turn out to be a key factor, as temperatures aren't expected to be much higher than freezing point. This might result in a more "compact" race, and will further complicate the stages", he warned.

"Tomorrow's stage includes two long climbs and a summit finish. First you climb 20 clicks, then a quick descent, and then another 27 kilometres. It's a litmus test for the GC aspirants. We'll try to be as close to the front as possible."

Photo: www.roadbikeaction.com

Naturgas set for Markina test

Naturgas Energía will send a big 12-man squad to Sunday's Lehendakari-race in Markina in search of overall leadership for Jon Larrinaga.

Larrinaga goes into the event tied on points at the top of the Torneo Lehendakari-standings along with Debabarrena's Aitor González, and will look to finally take the lead outright after a tense duel so far this season. If he is to claim the lead, it's not unthinkable he'll have to seal the team's first win of the season, and in the process emulate the likes of Jonathan Castroviejo and Peio Bilbao (who've both stood atop the podium, in 2007 and 2010 respectively).

Team DS Iñigo Urretxua told the team's website today that grabbing the lead is exactly what they'll aim for, and said the team will be represented by: Jon Larrinaga, Karl Baudron, Damien García, Mikel Iturria, Imanol Estévez, Loic Chetout, Pablo Comins, Víctor Etxeberria, Alain González, Oier Sánchez, Javier Francisco Martín and Alain Santamaría.

Debabarrena's Sergio Ruiz took out last year's edition of the race that's known as the Memorial Sabin Foruria in impressive fashion, besting Haritz Orbe, now with Orbea, and Raul Fernández of Caja Rural. Igor Merino, also with Orbea now, was Naturgas' top finisher in sixth.

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

Status quo in Giro stage 13

There were no major incidents during today's 13th stage of the Giro d'Italia, and all Euskaltel riders got through the stage unscathed.

Stage 13, a short 121km trek from Savona to Cervere, will not go down in the Giro history books as a classic by any means. While the short distance and late race start was no doubt well received by a weary peloton, it was a drag for most onlookers as virtually nothing happened - except for what we all knew would happen, i.e. Keizer getting into a doomed break and Cav taking out the stage in a field sprint.

Euskaltel and Mikel Nieve stayed out of the little trouble there was, and crossed the line safely inside the peloton along with Oroz and Txurruka. How the rest of the team managed to finish more than five minutes down on a day like this is a mystery to me, for all I know someone might have crashed or suffered a mechanical, but it doesn't really matter anyway. A big thumbs up goes out to Iván Velasco who once again fought the pain and got through the stage, his entire left side bandaged. Chapeau!

Stage 13 results:

• (1, Mark Cavendish (Sky), 3:02:07
• 58, Mikel Nieve, s.t.
• 66, Amets Txurruka, s.t.
• 94, Juan José Oroz, s.t.
• 168, Miguel Minguez, 5:01
• 173, Adrián Sáez, s.t.
• 179, Iván Velasco, s.t.
• 180, Jon Izagirre, s.t.
• 181, Pierre Cazaux, s.t.
• 185, Víctor Cabedo, 5:50

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

Fraile shines in Ronde de l'Isard stage two

Omar Fraile showed his form is strong by claiming fifth in today's second stage of the Ronde de l'Isard. The 21-year-old now occupies the same placing overall.

Day two of the French sub-23 stage-race was taken out by Sergei Chernetskiy - and in some style. The Russian soloed to the stage win, finishing 1:26 ahead of a select group of five, and thus took a commanding lead in the overall standings. This select second group, of which Fraile was a part, consisted of Pierre-Henri Lecuisiner, who took second, his compatriot Maxime Le Lavandier (third), a certain Alexey Rybalkin and  Louis Varvaeke. This group finished up eight seconds ahead of a 20-man group containing Orbea's Igor Merino.

Fraile, who'll ride for Euskaltel in 2013 and 2014, thus continued his strong riding that recently netted him a solid 28th overall in the Vuelta a Asturias, and the former Subida a Gorla-winner has now put his name into the ring of contenders for a high overall placing. With the two remaining days taking in quite the amount of climbs, not least the Col du Portet d'Aspet tomorrow, the strong Orbea climber will look to make his mark.

Stage two results (full results here):

• (1, Sergei Chernetskiy (Russia), 3:49:56)
• 5, Omar Fraile, 1:26
• 20, Igor Merino, 1:34
• 30, Carlos Barbero, 2:38
• 39, Illart Zuazubiskar, 2:39
• 55, Haritz Orbe, 2:44

Photo: www.omarfraile.com

"I had no strength to attack on the run-in"

Amets Txurruka, always an odds-on favourite to feature in dangerous breaks in Grand Tours, once again found himself in an ideal position on today's hilly leg 12 of the Giro d'Italia - but once again failed to capitalize. The likeable climber had no response to Lars Ytting Bak's late-race acceleration that eventually netted him the stage win, and the Euskaltel rider lamented the toll 12 days of racing is taking on him.

"I'm feeling the effects of this race, and my legs aren't the same as when we started out", he told the team's website. "It was a good day for a break to stay clear today, so it was hard to infiltrate the right one as everyone set out with the same idea. We succeeded, but it cost a lot. But once you're in the break, it's all about how you can come out triumphant. I'm not particularly fast, so I tried to attack on the climb. I lacked a bit of strength though, so I stopped once they caught my wheel."

The break regrouped on the descent, but the 29-year-old explained he had nothing left in the tank to give it a go on the flat kilometres leading to the line.

"Everyone in the group were watching each other, but I had no strength to attack from afar. In the sprint I ended up seventh. When you're in a break like that, you're in with a chance to win, but it just wasn't possible."

Barbero sprints to 6th in Isard opener

Carlos Barbero gave Orbea a decent start to the Ronde de l'Isard today with a sixth-place finish in stage one.

The 154,3km stage from Saint-Girons to Carla-Bayale was taken out by Entente Sud Gascogne's Alexis Guerin, the 19-year-old soloing to win four seconds ahead of countryman Pierre-Roger Latour of Chambéry CF. Quentin Bernier of powerhouse outfit CR4C Roanne closed out the podium a further four seconds adrift after the trio, along with Russian duo Pomoshnikov and Ptashkin (so strong recently in the Vuelta al Bidasoa), distanced the peloton in the finale. Barbero, who's quickly found his feet at this level after joining from Naturgas Energía in the winter, took out the bunch sprint 25 seconds down on the winner. The peloton also included team-mates Fraile and Merino.

21-year-old Barbero described the stage as a "missed opportunity" and the result as "unsatisfactory" on his Twitter account, while Fraile took to the same medium to express his contentment after coming down with fever yesterday.

Tomorrow's stage takes in the testing climb of Montségur some 30 kilometres from the line, meaning it's anyone's guess who'll sneak away with it.

Stage 1 results:

• (1, Alexis Guerin (Entente Sud Gascogne), 3:45:17
• 6, Carlos Barbero, 0:25
• 24, Omar Fraile, s.t.
• 40, Igor Merino, s.t.
• 74, Haritz Orbe, 14:52
• 75, Illart Zuazubiskar, 17:01

Photo: www.orbea.com

Txurruka's golden chance goes begging

Amets Txurruka got into the race-winning break on today's 12th stage of the Giro d'Italia, but couldn't find the means to outfox his breakaway companions and was forced to settle for seventh.

The 157km hilly ride from Seravezza to Sestri Levante was destined for a break to go all the way, and luckily the team paid attention and got Txurruka in there along with eight others: FDJ's Casar, Vacansoleil's Keizer (again), BMC's Santaromita, Movistar's Amador, Androni's Rodríguez, Omega Pharma's Golas, Radioshack's Bakelants and Lotto's eventual winner Bak. As Katusha suddenly relinquished the lead of the peloton with roughly 60 clicks to go, the break quickly built up and unassailable lead over the penultimate climb. The attacking started for real up the last climb, a cat.3 topping out some 10 kilometres from the line, but no one really got away. Surprisingly given his comparatively weak sprint, Txurruka never really gave it a go, only accelerating mildly for a short five seconds close to the top. The group splintered somewhat near the top, but the entire group, except for the spent Golas and the naturalle exhausted Keizer, got together on the descent. On the three-kilometre run-in, everyone seemed content to sit on and watch, with only Casar and Amador seeming keen to avoid a group sprint.

The inevitable then happened with approximately two clicks to go when Bak, a strong rouleur and expert at late-race moves, got a decent-sized gap. Txurruka didn't manage to close it, didn't receive any help, and just like that the big Dane had it wrapped up. Casar brought home Txurruka's group 12 seconds later, while the Euskaltel rider lost the sprint and crossed the line in seventh.

If you missed the stage on TV, check out how the last five kilometres unfolded below:

The peloton, containing all the big favourites as well as Euskaltel trio Nieve, Oroz and Izagirre, came home 3:34 in arrears, meaning Rodríguez will once again don the pink jersey tomorrow morning.

Stage results:

• (1, Lars Ytting Bak (Lotto-Belisol), 3:58:20
• 7, Amets Txurruka, 0:12
• 48, Mikel Nieve, 3:34
• 50, Juan José Oroz, s.t.
• 65, Jon Izagirre, s.t.
• 121, Iván Velasco, 12:05
• 135, Pierre Cazaux, 13:32
• 176, Miguel Minguez, 20:21
• 178, Adrián Sáez, s.t.
• 180, Víctor Cabedo, s.t.

General classification:

• (1, Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha), 51:19:08)
• 37, Mikel Nieve, 3:35
• 49, Jon Izagirre, 9:37
• 58, Juan José Oroz, 18:51
• 73, Iván Velasco, 31:13
• 86, Amets Txurruka, 41:10
• 138, Víctor Cabedo, 1:18:04
• 172, Pierre Cazaux, 1:42:20
• 181, Adrián Sáez, 1:58:50
• 186, Miguel Minguez, 2:15:27

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

Aramendía crashes out in Norway - in hospital

Caja Rural rider Javier Aramendía crashed out of the Glava Tour of Norway earlier on Wednesday and was taken to hospital.

Fortunately, no broken bones were detected for the former Euskaltel stalwart. The 25-year-old went to ground along with team-mates Aitor Galdós and Antonio Piedra (and some 30 other riders) during the Norwegian stage-race's first stage into Tønsberg, but was the only one on the Caja Rural team not able to complete the stage.

The native of Funes, Navarra, will spend the night under observation, but is expected to be discharged in the morning, reports the team's own website. Though he escaped fractures, he's still pretty banged up and suffered bruises to his arms, legs and back.

Photo: www.noticiasdenavarra.com

Euskaltel rescue the day in Giro stage 11

An untimely puncture derailed Jon Izagirre's challenge in today's 243km stage 11 from Assisi to Montecatini Terme, but it was thumbs up for everyone else on the team.

Mikel Nieve stayed with the pack to stay 35th on GC, a bandaged-up Iván Velasco got through the day after yesterday's crash, and Adrián Sáez made his mark on the race with a long day up ahead in the break of the day.

It was initially thought (by myself and the commentators anyway) that the Euskaltel rider suffering a mechanical inside the final 15 kilometres was in fact Mikel Nieve, but it turned out to be Izagirre. It could hardly have happened at a worse time for him what with the final climb coming up just up the road, on a terrain that would have suited him, and the youngster (who I've picked for my Giro-manager squad) crossed the line three minutes and 28 seconds down in 123rd place. No points for me in other words, but more importantly an opportunity missed for him.

Adrián Sáez, making his debut in a three-week race, wasn't frightened by the distance of today's stage and decided to give it a go alongside FDJ's Delage, Vacansoleil's Denifl, Lotto's Kaisen and Saxo Bank's Boaro. It was the latter who held off the pack the longest, but Sáez showed his strength by holding off the peloton longer than experienced campaigners Denifl, Delage and Kaisen. A brilliant experience for him.

Stage 11 results:

• (1, Roberto Ferrari (Androni), 6:49:05
• 37, Juan José Oroz, s.t.
• 41, Mikel Nieve, s.t.
• 96, Amets Txurruka, s.t.
• 123, Jon Izagirre, 3:28
• 160, Víctor Cabedo, 10:02
• 161, Iván Velasco, s.t.
• 184, Pierre Cazaux, s.t.
• 188, Adrián Sáez, 12:33
• 189, Miguel Minguez, s.t.

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

Orbea set for Ronde de l'Isard

Orbea will send their five under-23 riders to the 2012 edition of the Ronde de l'Isard starting this Thursday.

The prestigious four-day stage race will run from Thursday through Sunday, and will see the following riders line up: Illart Zuazubiskar, Igor Merino, Carlos Barbero, Haritz Orbe and Omar Fraile. A lot of the riders, perhaps particularly Fraile and Merino, showed strong climbing form in the recent Vuelta a Asturias, but they have a job on their hands if they are to repeat the stage-winning heroics of Romain Sicard and Jonathan Castroviejo of years past: a host of strong rider from the US, France, Russia, you name it, will be present. Among the favourites are recent Bidasoa champ Alexey Rybalkin, Entente Sud Gascogne's Quentin Pacher, USA Cycling's Rob Squire and France's Julien Alaphilippe.

Foto: www.orbea.com

Duo crash in Giro stage 10; Nieve strong

It was an eventful day ten for Euskaltel in the Giro d'Italia today, but it wasn't all for the right reasons. Cazaux and Velasco both crashed, Minguez was in the break of the day (again) and Nieve stayed with the favourites on the climb to the line.

First things first. Cazaux and Velasco are both reported to be okay considering the circumstances, says the team's website. The former got off relatively easy and is ready to go tomorrow, but Velasco wasn't that lucky. The climber hit the deck some 25 kilometres from the line on the 189km stage from Civitavecchia to Assisi while trying to chase back on after a flat tire. Ever brave, Velasco got up and finished the stage, but was later taken to a nearby hospital for check-ups on his shoulder. Fortunately, the team's Twitter account reports that he's not suffered a fracture nor a fissure to his collarbone, but he's pretty banged up. "Let's see how he recovers overnight", is the latest message. Interpret that as you like.

On a positive note, Miguel Minguez continues to impress with his gung-ho approach to the race and formed part of the stage's main break - his third so far in this Giro. The 23-year-old left the peloton behind after some ten kilometres along with Ag2r's Bonnafond, NetApp's Brändle, Farnese's Failli and Vacansoleil's Keizer, and was not to be seen again until only eight kilometres were left to race. There was never any chance of the break actually going the distance, but at least he's now leading the "Premio della Fuga"-competition, having spent 475 clicks off the front (18 more than number two, Keizer).

Approaching the brutal climb to Assisi, Nieve was (unnecessarily) badly placed, but showed his guile by sneaking his way towards the front and just managed to stay with the group of favourites that came in six seconds back on winner and new pink jersey Rodríguez. Nieve distanced the likes of Cunego, Rujano and Schleck, and is now 35th on GC. Jon Izagirre wasn't far back in 25th place, nine seconds further off the pace, while Oroz placed a decent 36th at 42 seconds. This strong all-round team performance secured Euskaltel fourth in the team rankings for the day.

Stage ten results:

• (1, Joaquím Rodríguez (Katusha), 4:25:05)
• 20, Mikel Nieve, 0:06
• 25, Jon Izagirre, 0:15
• 36, Mikel Nieve, 0:42
• 62, Amets Txurruka, 2:17
• 169, Pierre Cazaux, 7:32
• 170, Iván Velasco, s.t.
• 178, Adrián Sáez, 7:49
• 189, Miguel Mínguez, 11:36
• 190, Víctor Cabedo, s.t.

Please note that the photo of an injury-stricken Iván Velasco is not from today's stage.

Cazaux and Izagirre put team on the map in Italy

Euskaltel were in the thick of the action in today's ninth Giro d'Italia stage. Both Pierre Cazaux and Jon Izagirre were on the offensive over the 169 kilometres from San Giorgio del Sannio and Frosinone.

Frenchman Cazaux made it into the break of the day along with Lotto's Bulgac and Vacansoleil's Keizer, but the trio were never able to open up an interesting gap and were naturally reeled in with less than 30 kilometres to go. That set the stage for Jon Izagirre to make a brief sortie off the front in the finale, but he never got far and was forced to settle for a decent 14th in the crash-marred field sprint.

"We tried to avoid a bunch sprint, to surprise the peloton, but it wasn't to be", the GC debutant told the team's website upon crossing the line. "Grabbing a win in a GT is hard, but we have to try. I've been feeling good so far in the Giro, and there's still a lot to fight for".

Mikel Nieve had no trouble staying with the bunch on today's rather flat affair, and is now ranked 41st overall.

Stage nine results:

• (1, Francisco Ventoso (Movistar), 3:39:20)
• 14, Jon Izagirre, s.t.
• 26, Mikel Nieve, s.t.
• 51, Amets Txurruka, s.t.
• 52, Juan José Oroz, s.t.
• 55, Iván Velasco, s.t.
• 158, Adrián Sáez, 3:02
• 177, Víctor Cabedo, 5:27
• 178, Miguel Minguez, s.t.
• 188, Pierre Cazaux, 6:20

Photo: www.velonews.com

Euskaltel's Tour de France long-team

French cycling website Velo-Club yesterday revealed Euskatel's pre-selection for the Tour de France. The reliable site claims that 14 riders are in the running for nine places.

Here are the candidates: Mikel Astarloza, Jorge Azanza, Gorka Izagirre, Egoi Martínez, Mikel Nieve, Juan José Oroz, Alan Pérez, Rubén Pérez, Samuel Sánchez, Romain Sicard, Amets Txurruka, Pablo Urtasun, Iván Velasco and Gorka Verdugo.

Judging by comments made earlier this year by Gerrikagoitia, Madariaga et al., it seems to be set in stone that the following riders line up: Astarloza, Izagirre, Martínez, R Pérez, Sánchez and Verdugo. No surprises there. So that basically leaves three places up for grabs.

I can hardly see the Giro riders (Nieve, Txurruka, Velasco, Oroz) line up, but then again A Pérez and Sicard have woefully struggled for form this year and really need to step up their game if they are to land a ticket to France - thus opening the door for the riders in Italy. Azanza, who took part in País Vasco but is not racing in Italy, looks a decent bet for a spot on the team, but experienced campaigners like Oroz and Velasco shouldn't be discounted either I reckon.

Who would you like to see represent Euskaltel in July?

Nieve stays in contention at Lago Laceno

Mikel Nieve enjoyed another solid day in the saddle on his way to 23rd place at the end of the Giro d'Italia's first back-to-back stages in the mountains. The Euskaltel team leader stayed with the group of favurites on the road to Lago Laceno to conclude a satisfactory weekend of racing for the team.

Much of the day was about another rider in orange though. Miguel Minguez spent the majority of 229km stage in the break of the day - his second time doing so in this year's edition. The Bilbao native jumped clear after some 30 kilometres of racing along with Movistar's classy Andrey Amador, Vacansoleil's Polish champ Tomasz Marczynski and Ag2r's Julien Bérard. The climber looked to be one of the strongest of the quartet, but somehow, seemingly out of the blue, was dropped when Marczynski upped the pace. Minguez has now accumulated 308 kilometres off the front - only three other riders have done more. With the "real" mountains yet to come, you sense he'll add to that tally in the not too distant future.

Euskaltel had Nieve, Izagirre and Velasco in the steadily diminishing lead group going into the last climb, but the latter two found the pace a wee bit too hot and dropped off towards the top, eventually going on to finish 29th and 31st respectively in the second group, 1:24 in arrears. They seem to be lacking that tiny bit extra that would enable them to stay with Nieve and help him out in the moments that really matter, but, again, the mountains are yet to arrive on the horizon.

Speaking post-race, Nieve was content with the day's work, but said the heat was taking its toll.

"The high temperatures and the terrain are hurting the peloton", he explained to www.fundacioneuskadi.com. "My legs are starting to tire. The last few days have been tough, and the warmth is partly to blame. I hope the coming days will be a bit easier - they're mainly flat, so hopefully we can "recover" some energy".

Stage eight results:

• (1, Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago - CSF Inox), 6:06:05
• 23, Mikel Nieve, 0:27
• 29, Jon Izagirre, 1:14
• 31, Iván Velasco, s.t.
• 61, Amets Txurruka, 5:24
• 104, Juan José Oroz, 14:39
• 147, Pierre Cazaux, 19:16
• 148, Víctor Cabedo, 20:10
• 180, Miguel Minguez, 21:16
• 182, Adrián Sáez, s.t.

On GC, Mikel Nieve is 42nd at 3:18.

Full results here.

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com