Report: Euskaltel sign Kocjan

According to various reports, Euskaltel have signed Slovenian Team Type 1 rider Jure Kocjan.

The 27-year-old will thus become the team's first rider with no Basque links, if www.velochrono.fr are to be believed. Neither Euskaltel nor Team Type 1 have confirmed the deal.

Kocjan, who's been a pro since 2005 and has 12 wins to his name (among them a pair of stages in this year's Tour de Limousin), had allegedly received several offers from Italian teams, but opted for Euskaltel. BiciCiclismo reports the speedy all-rounder finished 16th in last year's UCI Europe Tour, and will therefore bring some much-needed points to the team's bid for a WorldTour-licence for next season.

The French website concludes its report by stating that another rider from the "same geographic area" is likely to join Euskaltel in the near future. 31-year-old compatriot Robert Vrecer has previously been linked with the team.

More on this story as it develops.

Check out Kocjan's history and results here.

Photo: www.e-mesto.si

Report: Landa was close to Movistar

According to Sergi López-Egea, the same journalist who broke the "news" yesterday that Mikel Nieve might leave for Movistar, Mikel Landa was awfully close to joining the same team before opting to renew his contract with Euskaltel.

The 22-year-old climber allegedly started negotiating with Movistar boss Eusebio Unzué back in January, and a deal was practically in place to take the Fundación Euskadi product to Spain's biggest team.

This happened without the Euskaltel bosses knowing a thing, according to the El Périodico scribe.

All that was lacking was Landa's signature, but by May the rider supposedly got impatient and wanted the deal done and dusted with. Unzué wasn't in a hurry though, and Landa thus went on to prolong his stay with Euskaltel not long after.

If this is the whole truth, and why Landa suddenly got a change of heart, I don't know and he doesn't say. What is true though is that Landa will stay an Euskaltel rider at least 'till the end of the 2014 season.

Antón's hopes dwindle at Valdezcaray

Igor Antón's GC ambitions at the Vuelta a España took a major hit today as he was distanced on the slopes of the Valdezcaray.

The cat.1 climb at the end of the 160,6km fourth stage wasn't supposed to be a decisive climb given its relative gentle ramps, and it wasn't to everyone but the Euskaltel leader as a 23-man strong select group reached the line together a minute or so behind surprise winner Simon Clarke of Orica-GreenEdge. Antón went out the back once the climbing started though and came in 30 seconds down. Hadn't it been for the excellent pace-setting of loyal domestiques Amets Txurruka and Gorka Verdugo, as well as the stalemate up ahead among the favourites, it might have been a lot more though.

The 29-year-old looked shattered upon crossing the line, a pale shadow of the Antón of 2010 he hoped to replicate in this year's edition.

"I didn't feel good", he admitted post-race at www.fundacioneuskadi.com. "The first part of the stage went well, but I think the tension in the latter part, coupled with the heat, affected me. Still, I didn't lose a lot of time, and I think I managed to save the day on a stage that turned out difficult for me. Txurruka and Verdugo did a great job on the climb, just like the rest of the team during the whole stage. There's still many stages of the Vuelta left and I didn't lose a lot, so I'll continue to stay optimistic", he said.

While him staying positive is a good thing, there aren't many positives to draw from his and the team's situation. As I touched upon yesterday, he's not looking even close to top form and he seems some way off the likes of Contador, Froome, Purito et al. His explanation, that the heat and the tension affected him, is as unconvincing as his form. It's still early days, granted, but it already looks like Antón can wave goodbye to the overall podium for another year. So much for leaving Nieve at home, huh?

Mikel Landa continued his inexplicably bad form by losing more than four minutes. On a positive note, Iván Velasco showed his form is on the up by making a brief appearance off the front on the early ramps of the Valdezcaray. He didn't get anywhere as Contador soon jumped after him, but at least he's less likely to fracture his collarbone if he's ahead of the field.

As for the GC, Antón is now 16th - already a minute down on Katusha's Purito Rodríguez.

Stage four results:

• (1, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge), 4:30:26)
• 32, Amets Txurruka, 1:34
• 33, Gorka Verdugo, s.t.
• 34, Igor Antón, s.t.
• 47, Romain Sicard, 2:08
• 50, Iván Velasco, 3:15
• 59, Mikel Astarloza, 4:15
• 61, Juan José Oroz, s.t.
• 63, Mikel Landa, s.t.
• 126, Rubén Pérez, 12:14

General classification:

• (1, Joaquin Rodríguez (Katusha), 13:18:45)
• 16, Igor Antón, 0:57
• 24, Gorka Verdugo, 1:38
• 25, Amets Txurruka, 1:50
• 36, Romain Sicard, 2:53
• 45, Mikel Astarloza, 5:00
• 47, Iván Velasco, 5:25
• 48, Mikel Landa, 5:27
• 56, Juan José Oroz, 6:55
• 117, Rubén Pérez, 19:38

Photo: Iñaki Azanza

Charentes + Portugal round-up

A number of Euskaltel stars were on the start line today as the Tour de Poitou-Charentes commenced today with a 182km ride from Villebois Lavalette to Royan.

The likes of Samuel Sánchez, Egoi Martínez and Mikel Nieve, who's future has been the subject of much conjecture the last 24 hours, were all present as Aidis Kruopis made it a day to remember for Orica-GreenEdge by sprinting to the win an hour or so before Simon Clarke went on to win the Vuelta stage to Valdezcaray. All Euskaltel riders came in with the peloton, but none were too bothered at trying their hand in the sprint and cruised home mid-pack. Everyone except for Víctor Cabedo, who's had a rough week after crashing hard in the ENECO Tour earlier this month. The former Orbea youngster came in over three minutes down in 150th place.

As for Nieve, the latest rumours have it that the lanky climber has been negotiating with Movistar behind Euskaltel's back, but that a contract is yet to be signed. Euskaltel deny Nieve is on the move.

Stage one results:

• (1, Aidis Kruopis (Orica-GreenEdge), 4:41:44)
• 45, Alan Pérez, s.t.
• 62, Ricardo García, s.t.
• 72, Pablo Urtasun, s.t.
• 90, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 102, Egoi Martínez, s.t.
• 106, Mikel Nieve, s.t.
• 119, Pierre Cazaux, s.t.
• 150, Víctor Cabedo, 3:09

Over at the Volta a Portugal, Omar Fraile continued his strong run of form on stage six. The Santurce-native grabbed a strong tenth two days ago, and on Tuesday showed that result was no fluke by taking ninth on the rolling sixth stage from Aveiro to Viseu. Fraile made it into the break of the day, but could do nothing to stop United Healthcare's Jason McCartney soloing to the win. The Orbea rider came in ninth, 1:28 down on the Honolulu-born former Discovery Channel and Team CSC rider. Xabier Zabalo came in 15th and Jon Aberasturi 24th to complete a good day for the team.

With four stages to go, Fraile is the blue team's top man overall in 27th. Aritz Bagües is 45th, while birthday boy Mikel Bizkarra, turning 23 today, is 51st.

Check out full results here.

The pack will take a day off tomorrow, before resuming racing on Thursday with a stage to Sabugal.

Photo: www.cyclingnews.com

Orbea rider picked for l'Avenir

Orbea rider Haritz Orbe has been selected to represent Spain in the upcoming Tour de l'Avenir.

The 21-year-old first-year Orbea rider has been chosen alongside fellow Basque Ibai Salas of Caja Rural, Salas' highly-promising team-mate Rubén Fernández, Carlos Verona, who at 19 is the youngest pro in the pack, of Burgos-BH, Diputación de Ávila-Smileekers prodigy Víctor Martín and 21-year-old Cantabrian Jesús Ezquerra of Leopard-Trek Continental.

Orbe of Azkoitia in Gipuzkoa has enjoyed a decent maiden season among the pros, but is yet to crack the top ten in a race this year. Last year's winner of the San Isidro Sari Nagusia amateur classic in Natxitua will embark on the prestigious French stage-race this coming Sunday.

Check out the stages here. 

Here's the full start list (courtesy of BiciCiclismo). 

Photo: Gontzal Garate Arrieta

Unzué denies Durán capture

Despite reports to the contrary, Team Movistar manager Eusebio Unzué says Arkaitz Durán has not signed a contract with the team. In addition, Euskaltel are said to be interested.

BiciCiclismo reported on Sunday that the long-running WorldTour outfit had snapped up the 26-year-old Azysa-Telco'm-Conor WRC rider, but the announcement now appears to have been premature, judging by Unzué's comments.

"The signing is in no way completed", Unzué, brother of newly-resigned Racing Club de Santander coach Juan Carlos Unzué, told the website. "We've been interested, that's true, but nothing's set in stone. There's plenty of reasons to sign him, but the problem is the lack of space on the roster. Right now we're evaluating who to let go as we're looking to slim the team, and we've already signed two or three riders. I won't deny that we're interested in Durán though, he deserves to return".

It's long been known that the powerhouse team, currently shining in the Vuelta a España, will reduce its roster from 28 to 25 riders ahead of next season. Thus far, Liquigas climbing duo Eros Capecchi and Sylwester Szmyd have teamed up, while Vasili Kyrienka has penned a deal with Sky.

Interestingly, BiciCiclismo adds that Movistar isn't the only team that's been in contact with Durán. Allegedly, Caja Rural, Cofidis and Euskaltel are interested in the once-promising Basque.

Photo: www.atwistedspoke.com

Madariaga slams Euskaltel

Fundación Euskadi Ciclista president Miguel Madariaga has gone to war with Euskaltel over the foundation's budgetary shortcomings.

The departing Euskaltel Euskadi general manager, who'll hand over the reins to telephone company Euskaltel and Igor González de Galdeano at the turn of the year, reveals he's in need of half a million euro to balance the books - and claims Euskaltel are to blame.

"The foundation needs to sell its equipment to compensate for the loss in sponsorship money received from the Basque Government and the Provincial Councils over the last few years. We need 565 000 euro. Our four busses, our truck and our caravan is more or less worth that exact amount. We can't just give them away as we've got books to balance. The problem is that Eukaltel think they own them. My lawyer says they don't", he told Marca's Josu Garai.

Madariaga feels unjustly treated by the telecommunications giant, and doesn't mince his words.

"We don't deserve this treatment. The foundation owes nothing to Euskaltel, but Euskaltel owe a lot to the foundation and the 1600 members we've still got. I'm handing them a WorldTour team working perfectly, and I only demand that they value the 19 years of work I've put into this team. Euskaltel have earned many millions on advertising. Just in 2011, they got 120 million euro in exchange for a three-million investment. Their behaviour seems strange to me. I've always been honest and upfront with them and we've never had any big problems. But after president (José Antonio) Ardanza left, nothing is like it used to be", he bashed.

Marca's expert cycling scribe goes on to call the foundation and the telephone company's relationship a soap opera, and Madariaga admits a fight is on.

"It's an issue of power. I'm disappointed. I've fought many years for a team like this to be a part of the cycling elite. And I'm proud to say I've succeeded. My fear is that this team, which has been a team of a country, will become a commercial team. I don't know how the fans would react to that".

Photo: DEIA

Confusion over Nieve future

Word on Twitter has it that climbing specialist Mikel Nieve has signed a contract with Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank for next year.

Sergi López-Egea, journalist al El Periódico, broke the "news" Monday evening, stating "Mikel Nieve will next year be the great helper in the mountains for Alberto Contador". The usually well-informed journo's tweet was soon spread all over social medias, but as of yet there's been no official word on the matter. Former ONCE pro Rafael Díaz Justo, who's also known as a knowledgeable gentleman, simply stated "the signing of Nieve is not true" a few hours later. So there you go. It seems to be anyone's guess.

Question marks were raised in late July when Igor González de Galdeano failed to mention Nieve, one of the team's stand-out performers, as one the team will be built around in the future, but several sources has it that Nieve is indeed contractually tied to Euskaltel in 2013 as well.

More on this story as it develops. 

Fraile to the fore in Portugal

The Vuelta a España isn't the only big ongoing race on the Iberian Peninsula these days: the 2.1-ranked Volta a Portugal is well underway, and Orbea are making their mark now that the peloton has reached the mountains after a muted start.

The first real mountain stage was Sunday's stage four to the top of the cat.1 Alto Senhora da Graca, and Omar Fraile showed what a potential ace climber he is in the making by finishing a solid tenth in a relatively high-quality field. 36-year-old Rui Sousa, the 2008 overall victor, showed he's still going strong by beating Efapel-Glassdrive team-mates Sérgio Ribeiro and David Blanco to take a popular home win. 22-year-old Fraile came in 27 seconds back, ahead of the likes of Darwin Atapuma, Garikoitz Bravo, defending champ Ricardo Mestre and Moisés Dueñas. Mikel Bizkarra also showed decent shape by claiming 23rd.

Check complete stage four results here.

On Monday's fifth stage from Armamar to Oliveira de Azemeis, run in sweltering heat, Mikel Bizkarra made it into the main break, but the stage ended in a bunch sprint from which Efapel's Ribeiro grabbed the win. Fraile, Bagües and Zabalo made it in with the peloton, while the rest of the guys ceded some time.

Access stage five results through this link.

Five stages down (plus a prologue), five stages to go. Tomorrow's trek takes the riders 184,1 lumpy clicks from Aveiro to Viseu.

Here's the overview of the stages.

Antón (just) survives first test

Igor Antón limited his losses to a minimum in today's first proper test for the GC candidates in the Vuelta a España.

The stage over Arrate and down to Eibar was never going to separate the overall favourites all that much, but four riders clearly stood out above the rest as the first blows were traded between the guys with general classification aspirations. Contador, looking as sharp as ever if somewhat stressed, Valverde, Rodríguez and Froome were easily the riders with the best legs as the likes of Antón, Gesink, Intxausti, Roche, Mollema, Urán and Moreno were always left playing catch-up as the quartet attacked each other repeatedly.

Antón never looked at ease and was terribly isolated as Txurruka, Verdugo and Landa in particular flattered to deceive. While Landa's no-show was disappointing, Antón's struggles will worry the team bosses considerably more. Granted, it's still early days and Arrate isn't the climb best suited to him, but he looked far from top shape. He'll probably get better as the race progresses and the climbs get longer though, so no need to press the alarm button just yet.

Luckily for Antón, the differences weren't big at all. Valverde pipped Purito to the triumph, while Antón and his small select group came in only six seconds in arrears. Taking 12th on the stage propelled the Euskaltel leader to 10th overall.

Somewhat surprisingly, but naturally in keeping with his ever-optimistic view of things, he expressed delight at his own performance afterwards.

"It was an agonizing climb right from the start, but I'm content as I got the confirmation that I'm in good shape", he told www.esciclismo.com. "It was difficult to win as the explosive riders had an advantage. I'm looking optimistically towards the future, and the important thing is that I improve as we go. I think I've got the experience to fight for the Vuelta and I know I've got to keep calm to stay in the fight to reach my goals all the way to the end".

As for the rest of the team, some were solid and some failed to deliver. As already mentioned, Landa was never close and came in a huge 1:52 back, while Verdugo looked decent in 18th place at no more than 47 seconds. Txurruka wasn't far off either, while three traditionally strong climbers, Astarloza, Sicard and Velasco, clearly have a lot of work to do if they are to be of any use to their team leader in the mountains.

Up tomorrow is a demanding stage to the Valdezcaray ski station, and as such an opportunity for Antón's team-mates to show that he's not fighting for the Vuelta all by himself.

A big thumbs up goes out to the supporters lining the roadside at Arrate. They were out in force and added colour to an already exhilarating race.

Stage three results:

• (1, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), 3:49:37)
• 12, Igor Antón, 0:06
• 18, Gorka Verdugo, 0:47
• 25, Amets Txurruka, 0:50
• 35, Iván Velasco, 1:28
• 36, Mikel Astarloza, s.t.
• 43, Romain Sicard, s.t.
• 52, Mikel Landa, 1:52
• 71, Juan José Oroz, 3:23
• 123, Rubén Pérez, 6.43

General classification:

• (1, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), 8:46:56)
• 10, Igor Antón, 0:46
• 20, Gorka Verdugo, 1:27
• 23, Amets Txurruka, 1:39
• 34, Romain Sicard, 2:08
• 35, Mikel Astarloza, s.t.
• 43, Mikel Landa, 2:35
• 54, Iván Velasco, 3:33
• 64, Juan José Oroz, 4:03
• 123, Rubén Pérez, 8:48

Full results can be found here. 

Vuelta stage 1 and Cyclassics round-up

Not much to write home about from the Vuelta a España today, as the sprinters had it all their own way on the 181km stage two from Pamplona to Viana.

Degenkolb took the spoils, while Rubén Pérez got in there and came away with 11th. All Euskaltel riders stayed out of trouble and came in with the pack, including Juan José Oroz who took to Twitter yesterday to say he'd had a "very bad" day at the office. Another Basque not enjoying the best of Vuelta openers, crash victim Koldo Fernández of Garmin-Sharp, showed no ill-effects and grabbed 12th at the line.

As for Antón, he was probably spending all day thinking about tomorrow's stage to Arrate - a famously happy hunting ground for the team (read: Samuel Sánchez). Antón himself came close to snatching what would have been a popular victory at the mythical climb back in 2009 at the Euskal Bizikleta, but had to give best to Eros Capecchi after showcasing unimpressive descending skills. The Arrate traditionally doesn't separate the GC contenders all that much though, and Antón doesn't expect it will this time around either.

"It'll only be the third stage of the race, so we have to stay calm. There'll be plenty of racing left afterwards", he told the team's website, cautious as ever. "The team time trial worked out well for us and we got through today's stage. We'll see how the stage to Arrate goes. It'll be a nice stage, it's a meaningful one for us, a special climb. I don't think there'll be big differences, but we have to be attentive and stay as close to the front as possible. We'll see how the legs respond on the first summit finish".

Over in Germany, Egoi Martínez made sure Euskaltel for once were in the thick of the action at the Vattenfall Cyclassics. The veteran formed part of a dangerous move that formed going over the Weseberg the last time, and stayed up ahead for approximately 10 clicks before being reeled back in. As anticipated it all came down to a sprint finish, a finish in which Euskaltel came off worse for wear when Gorka Izagirre was taken down in the wake of Orica-GreenEdge rider Darryl Impey's crash in the final 300 metres. It didn't look to bad for the native of Ormaiztegi, though, as he appeared to be able to slow down for quite a while before actually running into the carnage ahead of him. The team's website reports his injuries are nothing big.

In the lack of a pure sprinter, Alan Pérez was Euskaltel's top finisher in 23rd. Samuel Sánchez looked decent as he stayed calm mid-pack pretty much all day en route to a 31st-place finish. Next up for the 34-year-old is the Tour de Poitou Charentes commencing this Tuesday.

Full results:

• (1, Arnaud Démare (FDJ), 6:03:20)
• 23, Alan Pérez, s.t.
• 27, Egoi Martínez, 0:16
• 31, Samuel Sánchez, 0:24
• 40, Ricardo García, 0:36
• 65, Mikel Nieve, 1:11
• 76, Ion Izagirre, 2:40
• 77, Gorka Izagirre, s.t.
• DNF: Pablo Urtasun

Sicard hoping to stay in orange

Romain Sicard, currently taking part in his very first Grand Tour in Spain, has indicated he'd like to stay with the team in 2013.

The 24-year-old signed a three-year deal with the team ahead of 2010 tying him to Euskaltel through the current season, but with an option to extend his stay further. As the team heads are yet to say whether that clause has been exercised, coupled with the fact that his contract was signed with the Fundación Euskadi (who will no longer be a part of the team from next year on), there's been some confusion regarding his future, but the amiable Frenchman at least made his intentions clear when speaking to BiciCiclismo.

"My hope and intention is to stay with Euskaltel, so that's what's most likely to happen. Igor González de Galdeano has supported me since the beginning and I have a good relationship with him, but we need to clarify some things".

While Sicard's results thus far in 2012 have been everything but exceptional, there's been the odd sign over the last few months that he's still got the legs that carried him to a Tour de l'Avenir and Sub23 Worlds double back in 2009. He's admits though that he's some way from being in top shape.

"I'm feeling good and I'm constantly getting better. I'm still in a phase of recovery, but I'm on the right track. I'm still lacking something to be in peak form. I've worked hard, and still am, to try and rediscover my way of pedalling. I've come a long way, and my shape now has nothing to do with 2011. I'm clearly progressing. I still lack some strength though, but the most important thing for me is to leave the injury behind me. I think it's possible to return to the form I had before."

Sicard will, like the rest of his team-mates, be charged with chaperoning team leader Igor Antón around the pack and lend a hand in the mountains. Antón got his GC big off to a good start yesterday by ceding no more than 28 seconds to team time trial winners Movistar, and Sicard says the native of Galdakao is where he should be form-wise.

"I see an Antón in good form and very focused. It's really motivating to ride for such a great leader, and my mission is to help him out as best I can. It's also exciting for myself seeing as it's my first Grand Tour."

Movistar snap up Durán

Arkaitz Durán will make his return to the professional ranks next year in the colours of Movistar.

So says the ever-reliable BiciCiclismo. The 26-year-old of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, was forced to step down to the amateur ranks this year after his Geox-TMC team disbanded in late 2011, and has proved almost unbeatable in the colours of Azysa-Telco'm-Conor WRC. The former youth prodigy, who turned pro at the tender age of 19 back in 2005 with Matxin and Gianetti's later disgraced Saunier Duval-Prodir outfit, has triumphed a quite extraordinary 18 times so far this year, and has almost single-handedly made sure Azysa is the most-winning team on the Spanish amateur circuit this year.

There's no word on the length of his contract, but that's sure to be unveiled once Movistar confirm the signing.

Photo: El Diario Vasco

Castroviejo in red as Euskaltel start off well

Igor Antón got his general classification campaign at the Vuelta a España off to a surprisingly strong start as Euskaltel ceded no more than 28 seconds to runaway winners Movistar.

The team looked like a decently well-oiled machine throughout the 16,5km team time trial in downtown Pamplona, and finished up ninth of the 22 teams taking the start. With recent team time trial results fresh in the memory, it was a better performance than most would have expected prior to the opener and leaves Antón with not too much work to do in the mountains.

Movistar annihilated the competition on home roads by coming in a full ten seconds ahead of Rabobank, who in turn beat Euskaltel by 18 seconds. More importantly of course, Antón ceded no more than 24 seconds to possible GC rival Cobo, 18 to Gesink and Mollema, 16 to Froome and Van den Broeck, 14 to Contador and 13 to Purito. Antón crossed the line alongside Verdugo, Oroz, Astarloza, Sicard and Landa, while Txurruka came in nine seconds further down. Velasco and Pérez ended up 1:26 behind their team-mates.

Former Euskaltel riders Beñat Intxausti and Jonathan Castroviejo drove the Movistar train in the closing stages, the latter crossing the line first to get the honour of donning the red jersey of overall leader in the team's backyard. Castro and co. managed to drop Cobo in the final hundred metres though, meaning Antón lost four seconds fewer to Cobo than his team-mates.

"Considering we're a team of climbers, we can be pleased with our performance", 29-year-old Antón told Cyclingnews upon crossing the line. "We've worked hard recently at the team time trials and it's really important to get off to a good start. I want to go for the overall, even if there are a lot of top-flight contenders here".

DS Álvaro González de Galdeano, himself no slouch in the 'race of truth' back when he was racing, echoed his star rider's comments when speaking to the team's website post-race.

"It was a very good stage", he said. "To start with a good result gives the riders much motivation. We lost less than half a minute to the winners, so we have to be satisfied. I felt the team was really committed, and that's what's most important to me".

Stage one results:

• (1, Movistar, 18:51)
• (2, Omega Pharma-Quick Step, 0:10)
• (3, Rabobank, s.t.)
• 9, Euskaltel, 0:28 (Txurruka 0:09, Velasco and Pérez 1:26)

Photo: Iñaki Azanza