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Due to restrictions on my time, I'm looking for someone to help keep this site up to date with all the latest on Basque Cycling. If you feel like contributing in one way or another, be it through race reports, longer articles, short news briefs or whatever, feel free to contact me by mail (mkaa89@hotmail.com) and we'll take it from there. As it's quite time consuming to keep track of the different teams and riders, bringing in a few extra writers would ease the burden somewhat and give the site some much-needed new input.

Baudron reflects on "mixed season"

Young Frenchman Karl Baudron has been one of the mainstays of the Fundación Euskadi's sub-23 outfit Naturgas Energía the last year. The 19-year-old, who teamed up with the red and whites ahead of last season along with countrymen Loïc Chetout and Damien Garcia, has placed numerous times inside the top ten in races throughout the season, and on the look of it seems like a future Orbea rider in the making.

With the season almost at an end, Basque Cycling News talked to the young hopeful after the conclusion of the Tour du Piémont Pyrénéen. Get to know Karl, the son of Pascal, who's been kind in sharing his photos of the team with this site, below.

Question: You've got a lot of top ten placings to your name this season. How do you evaluate your season: better or worse than expected?

Answer: Yes, I've been in the top ten a few times this year, but so far it's been a mixed season. My performances have been very irregular throughout the season, and I've constantly alternated between feeling good and not feeling that good. I've also taken part in several stage races (Vuelta a Bidasoa, Vuelta a Navarrra, Tour du Piémont Pyrénéen), but for some reason I've never felt good in those races and abandoned all of them.

Q: And the season of the team? At the time being, Naturgas have only accumulated two victories.

A: Though we "only" have two wins, I think the team's season has been rather decent. We've often been up there, but we've lacked that little bit extra that would have enabled us to win more frequently. We're also in the fight for the overall triumph in the Torneo Lehendakari (the Basque Cycling Federation's sub-23 race series), both for the individual rankings, which Jon Larrinaga led for a long time, and the team rankings, where we've been alternating with Caja Rural in being the top ranked team.

Q: What races remain for you this year?

A: There are races for me to do until the end of September. At the end of the month, if the form's good, I might also head to the Vuelta a Cantabria.

Q: Will you be with Naturgas Energía next year, or do you hope to join Orbea?

A: I'll stay at Naturgas next year. With the lack of consistency I've shown in the one-day races as well as in the stage races this year, it's clear I need to progress if I am to hope of joining Orbea one day.

Q: What's the atmosphere like in the team?

A: The mood's good, everyone gets along very well, and that's why winning the Torneo Lehendakari's team ranking would be a big reward for the team.

Q: For people who don't know you that well, what kind of rider would you say you are?

A: I'd say I'm an all-rounder or a puncheur.

Q: You're born in Angoulême, right? How come you're riding for Naturgas, a Basque team?

A: Yes, I was born in Angoulême. I came to Pau six years ago along with my father for professional reasons. After that I started riding in Euskadi. The Fundación Euskadi contacted me and, though I had other offers, joining the Fundación was the most appealing. Today I have no regrets; it's been a very enriching experience!

Q: More and more French riders are riding with Naturgas, Euskaltel... Did you know Loïc Chetout and Damien Garcia prior to signing with the team?

A: Yeah, we knew each other before joining the team as we all came from the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region. It facilitated our integration I think.

Q: I suppose you've talked a bit with Miguel Madariaga. What's he like?

A: Of course. Madariaga is a really super guy. He's very accessible for everyone and he treats all the teams in the Fundación Euskadi the same. The foundation is like a big family, and Miguel Madariaga is our father!

Q: You're 19 now, and as such it might be a bit early to speak of it, but what are your biggest dreams as a cyclist?

A: Obviously it's a bit far ahead, but my biggest goal is certainly to one day win a stage in the Tour de France. For the French, the Tour's a big party and a very important race. Every French rider dreams of shining at that race. It's the race we've always dreamed of.

Q: Are you going to school as well as being a cyclist?

A: Yes, and that was an important factor in my joining Naturgas. For the Fundación, studying is an essential part of forming a cyclist. The Fundación's goal is not only to educate cyclists, but also to educate men. For this reason the Naturgas riders study at the same time as riding. Even at Orbea, some guys continue to study. I'm studying STAPS (which roughly translates to Sciences and Techniques of Sports and Physical Activities) and will embark on my third year of Sports Management.

Q: Who's the best rider you've ever raced with and against?

A: The best rider I've raced with is Loïc Herbreteau (former French elite national champion). I raced with him when I was a junior at VS Lescar and learned me a lot. More recently, last year I raced with excellent riders like Fernando Grijalba (now at Caja Rural), Carlos Barbero (Orbea) and Efrén Carazo (Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León). It's more difficult to pick the best riders I've raced against. Moreno Hofland, Bryan Coquard, Olivier Le Gac, Pierre Henri Le Cuisinier and Arkaitz Durán are all very talented riders.

Photo: Pascal Baudron

Euskaltel's TTT-sixtet set

The dreaded team time trial world championships are up this Sunday, and a press release from Euskaltel reveals the six riders that will get the dubious honour of representing the orange squad at the event.

The team bosses have opted for six of the more capable in the discipline: Romain Sicard, Juan José Oroz, Mikel Astarloza and Gorka Verdugo will all line up after completing the Vuelta the past weekend, and will be joined by the Izagirre brothers.

The course is a rather long one with its 53,2 kilometres, and will take in the ascents of Cauberg, Lange Raarberg and Bergseweg. The top 20 teams from the Europe Tour, the top five from the American and Asian Tours, and the top ranked team from both the African and Oceanian Tour will all line up.

So is Euskaltel as bad in the team crono as everyone would like to have it? If you consider this year's results, they very much are. A look at the team time trials the team has participated in earlier this year doesn't make for satisfactory reading. In the Tirreno-Adriatico right at the start of the season, the team ended up 21st out of 22 teams. In the Giro d'Italia in May, the team went on to finish dead last out of all 22 participating teams. In the ENECO Tour in early August, Euskaltel were next to last in 20th place, while there was a considerable upturn in fortunes at the Vuelta (which can be explained by the race being one of Euskaltel's main season goals, contrary to what's the case at most other teams), where the riders in orange ended up a respectable ninth out of the 21 teams on the start line in Pamplona, Navarra.

Photo: Iñaki Azanza

Euskaltel blown away

The wind played a major part in deciding the outcome of Wednesday's fourth stage of the Tour of Britain - and rather expectedly Euskaltel were caught out.

Mark Cavendish took top honours on the 156km leg from Carlisle to Blackpool, as an aggressive Sky team whittled the leading pack down to some 30 riders inside the last 30 clicks as the wind separated the focused teams from the ones lesser so. None of the riders in orange managed to infiltrate this first group, coming home with the second group three and a half minutes back.

On GC, Samuel Sánchez is the team's top rider in 45th place, almost six minutes back.

Results stage 4 (full results here):

• (1, Mark Cavendish (Sky), 3:51:33)
• 50, Adrián Sáez, 3:37
• 52, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 59, Ricardo García, s.t.
• 61, Pablo Urtasun, s.t.
• 64, Pierre Cazaux, s.t.

For a Basque Euskaltel

If you oppose to the way the "New Euskaltel" will look like next year, you're not alone. The guys over at "Foro Equipo Euskadi" have started a petition to keep the team the way it's run today, saying, among other teams, that "the team must consist of riders from Euskal Herria or riders who've ridden for amateur Basque teams". If you feel like putting your name to the list, click the link below:

Foro equipo Euskadi petition.  

Sicard hopes more's in store after first GT

On of the few bright spots in an otherwise dim Vuelta a España performance from Euskaltel, Romain Sicard has stated his contentment at having gotten through his first three-week race in fine shape on Sunday. The Frenchman, of course the centre of much hype a few years ago, ended his first 'Grandie' in a respectable 44th place, and the youngster, still only 24 mind you, is hoping for more big race action in the coming season.

"I came from far out", he told French paper Sud Ouest, referring to his struggle with injuries in 2011. "I hope this (finishing the Vuelta) will serve as a springboard to the future. My 44th place overall is anecdotal. I mostly worked for my leader, Igor Antón. I really wanted to get in a break, but I had tried several times without success. On Saturday (on the race's penultimate stage to the Bola del Mundo, where he finished fifth) 19 of us got away, and we built up a 10-minute lead. There were three cat.1s to climb and a final one with enormous gradients. Three kilometres from the top I was only 19 seconds off the three leaders, and I hoped to catch them to fight for the stage win. But in the end I finished fifth. It's still not bad though as there were some big-hitters in the field. Contador and Rodríguez played out their last duel before reaching Madrid."

Despite seemingly being on the mend though, Sicard intimates that he still feels discomfort on the bike.

"I can still feel my physical problems when riding, but I tend to forget about the pain when I'm racing. I feel that my shape is much better now than at the start of the year. The main thing it to progress", he said.

With his contract formally up after this season, Sicard's future has been the subject of much speculation for some time. The man himself denies being in contact with any French teams though, and reiterates he wants to stay on in orange.

"The "new Euskaltel"-project is not yet finalized. I promised my team leaders we'd meet up after the Vuelta, but I'm pretty sure I'll stay with Euskaltel. It was said I had been in contact with some French teams, but there's been nothing".

If you want to know what Gorka Verdugo, 11th overall in the recent Vuelta, thinks of his breakout race, or what it's like being a father for the first time, there are two interviews in Spanish waiting for you:

One in Gara and one in Deia.

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

Samu set for Worlds - almost

Spanish national team coach José Luis De Santos today revealed his nine chosen ones for the upcoming Limburg Road World Championships, and Euskaltel captain Samuel Sánchez, currently racing in the Tour of Britain, is one of them.

Samu is set to feature in the road race alongside former team-mate Jonathan Castroviejo, Alberto Contador, Joaquím Rodríguez, Alejandro Valverde, Óscar Freire, Dani Moreno, Juan Antonio Flecha and Pablo Lastras, in what is likely to be one of the strongest national teams ever to represent Spain at a worlds. Seeing as Samu has only just returned to racing from injuries sustained at the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, he's still not 100 percent sure to be on the plane to the Netherlands.

"He's an important rider for us, but we'll have to see how he recovers from his injuries. We'll see how he gets through the race (Tour of Britain), and then we'll have a talk. I know he'll be the first to say so if he's not in the shape to be there, as he did prior to the Olympics", said De Santos.

The Spanish Cycling Federation's website states that team-mate Egoi Martínez will replace Samu if he deems himself unfit to be worthy of a place in the selección.

As for the racing in Britain, Samu and co. got through day three without any major hiccups. Pablo Urtasun lost his mountains jersey to Kristian House, but more importantly everyone got through safe and sound without ceding any time.

Results stage three (full results here):

• (1, Mark Cavendish (Sky), 3:54:30)
• 22, Pierre Cazaux, s.t.
• 38, Ricardo García, s.t.
• 40, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 43, Adrián Sáez, s.t.
• 48, Pablo Urtasun, s.t.

General classification:

• (1, Leigh Howard (Orica-GreenEdge), 13:16:28)
• 44, Samuel Sánchez, 1:51
• 50, Pierre Cazaux, 1:53
• 56, Adrián Sáez, 2:00
• 83, Ricardo García, 9:02
• 90, Pablo Urtasun, 10:22

No López return as climber joins Sky

There'll be no Euskaltel-David López reunion as the out of favour Movistar climber has opted to sign for British powerhouse team Sky.

So says BiciCiclismo this afternoon. The 31-year-old has allegedly penned a two-year deal with compatriot Xabier Zandio's team, and will leave Eusebio Unzué after six years at his service. The Barakaldo-born former Euskaltel rider, who spent 2005 and 2006 in the orange jersey, was not selected into any of his team's GT squads this year, fuelling rumours he might opt for a return to Euskaltel in search of rides at the biggest races.

López García, who Miguel Madariaga branded a "special talent" when he decided to leave in the winter of 2006, grabbed no victories while with the team, but has since taken two: a stage in the now-defunct Deutschland Tour in 2007 and a stage at the Vuelta a España two years back.

Photo: www.beinsport.fr

Urtasun tops Britain climbs

Euskaltel got their Tour of Britain up and running on Monday after luck deserted them on Sunday's opener.

Pablo Urtasun infiltrated the main move of the day and claimed maximum points on all three categorized climbs on the 178km route from Nottingham to Knowsley. He'll thus get to wear the best climber's jersey on Tuesday's stage three.

Two of yesterday's crash victims, Samuel Sánchez and Ricardo García, got through the day unscathed and stayed near the front, while a fever put paid to Víctor Cabedo's race as he was forced to unclip during the stage.

According to the team's website (I wasn't able to watch the race myself), Pierre Cazaux, still looking for his first top result at the team, made a dangerous move inside the last three clicks, but was brought back in sight of the big red banner.

Results stage two (full results here):

• (1, Leigh Howard (Orica-GreenEdge), 4:31:09)
• 25, Ricardo García, 0:01
• 28, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 52, Pierre Cazaux, s.t.
• 65, Adrián Sáez, 0:17
• 93, Pablo Urtasun, 2:45
• DNF: Víctor Cabedo

Photo: www.cyclingnews.com

Fraile a go for Worlds

Orbea rider Omar Fraile has been selected to represent Spain in the sub-23 time trial World Championships in Limburg, the Netherlands.

The 22-year-old, who's set to join Euskaltel next season, will compete in the crono on September the 17th alongside Seguros Bilbao's sub-23 national time trial champion Marcos Jurado.

Bilbao-born Fraile has continuously showed his worth in the discipline this year, with an 11th place in the senior national champs and 14th in the race against the clock in the Volta ao Portugal being his most stand-out performances. Team coach José Luis De Santos had this to say about the former Subida a Gorla victor when speaking to the Spanish Cycling Federation's website earlier today.

"Fraile did the national championships in Béjar and didn't do too badly, on a very complicated parcours, and then confirmed (his qualities) in the time trial in Portugal.

Martínez in the mix in Montréal

Egoi Martínez was yet again on the offensive in the Grand Prix Montréal on Sunday evening, putting the finishing touches to what will go down as a memorable season for the veteran.

Naturally, neither Egoi Martínez, nor his breakaway companions Manuele Boaro or Cyril Gautier, made it to the line, but the seemingly never-tiring all-rounder once again made sure Euskaltel had a presence in a big race. Martínez, who took a career-best 17th overall in the Tour de France in July, was also in a dangerous move in the GP Ouest France-Plouay, and just like today made sure the team had something to show for their efforts when they had no realistic hope of grabbing a top result.

The Euskaltel riders were never really close to staging an upset, Gorka Izagirre's 38th place finish (just ahead of team-mates Peio Bilbao and Miguel Minguez) being the orange team's top result. Mikel Nieve, Jorge Azanza, Alan Pérez and Martínez all posted DNFs.

Results (full results here):

• (1, Lars Petter Nordhaug (Sky), 5:28:29)
• 38, Gorka Izagirre, 0:28
• 39, Peio Bilbao, s.t.
• 40, Miguel Minguez, s.t.
• 72, Ion Izagirre, 3:45
• DNF: Mikel Nieve, Egoi Martínez, Alan Pérez and Jorge Azanza.

Euskaltel down as crashes mar Britain opener

Euskaltel - along with most other teams - got their Tour of Britain campaigns off to a bad start as numerous crashes in the finale disrupted the 200km opener from Ipswich to Norfolk.

All six Euskaltel riders went down, but, if the team's website and numerous other cycling websites are to be trusted, none suffered serious injuries. Samuel Sánchez, making his return to racing after an unusually crash-plagued season, appears to be OK. Ricardo García came in dead last on the stage, but should be set for tomorrow's stage.

Luke Rowe of Team Sky sprinted to a rather surprising victory, while Euskaltel are now out of the fight for overall honours after only one day as the crashed meant the riders in orange came in well back.

Results stage 1 (full results here):

• (1, Luke Rowe (Sky), 4:51:05)
• 43, Adrián Sáez, 1:34
• 49, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 52, Pierre Cazaux, 1:36
• 74, Víctor Cabedo, 6:18
• 87, Pablo Urtasun, 7:22
• 99, Ricardo García, 8:45

Low-key Vuelta concludes

The 2012 Vuelta a España came to a close Sunday afternoon with a 115km ride from Cercedilla to Madrid, and yet again it was a case of the legs, not the courage, that was lacking for Euskaltel.

Mikel Astarloza got into the day's main break on the finishing circuits in the capital, but the small group never really threatened to upstage the sprinters and it came to naught well in time for giant sprinter John Degenkolb to take a sensational fifth stage win of the race. Gorka Verdugo, completing his best ever Grand Tour after being forced out of the Tour through injury, surprisingly decided to mix it up in the dash for the line and came away with 10th. Not too shabby for a climber.

On GC, Antón was forced to settle for a highly disappointing ninth overall on a course that suited him to perfection. Speaking after the stage, the team leader was anything but disappointed though.

"The Vuelta as a whole has been positive", he told the team's website. "I'm happy because it took me some time to get the feel for the race and I learned to overcome the most difficult moments. In this regard, the 2011 Vuelta helped me. I was consistent every day - which was the goal I set out to reach in Pamplona. Things didn't go well at Valdezcaray and in the Pontevedra time trial, here I lost the time that prevented me to be higher up overall, but I was competitive the other days. I lost time both days, but I didn't stop fighting and looking towards the future with optimism. In the mountainous stages I wasn't far behind the three strongest ones, and I performed well at my preferred terrain".

Due in good part to Gorka Verdugo (11th overall), Iván Velasco (26th overall) and Amets Txurruka (30th overall), Euskaltel came away with a creditable second place in the team rankings (only beaten by the mighty Movistar). Naturally, DS Álvaro González de Galdeano praised the team's performance afterwards.

"The team performed well, evidenced by the team placing second and Igor's ninth and Gorka's 11th overall, along with the fact that the team leader was always well looked after", the former pro said. "We were at the front in the mountain stages and played our cards against teams with three times our budget. That shouldn't be forgotten. Rubén (Pérez) was second at Lagos de Covadonga, Romain (Sicard) was fifth at the Bola del Mundo, Igor (Antón) was close to the best on every stage in the mountains... We always want more, to improve, but we've raced against high-level competition every day".

The fact that the team failed to finish on the overall podium or to grab a stage since 2007, should worry the team management, who's quest for WorldTour points in their home Grand Tour was everything but a success. The lack of points obtained might well result in the team bosses looking even more towards foreign riders to secure the team's status at the top table. Anyway, there were quite a few positives to take from the race, and here's what I consider to be the three most positive aspects of the team's performance:

1. Iván Velasco's ride: got through a three-week race (which for him alone isn't bad) in a noteworthy 26th overall, climbed well throughout and was there at some key moments when Antón needed him. A crash-free end to the season should bode well for next year.
2. Romain Sicard's consistency: he might not have drawn the most attention in Spain, but Sicard's first Grand Tour can only be classified as a success. Looked solid in the first half of the race, faltered a bit afterwards, but ended the race with a bang with fifth at Bola del Mundo. 44th overall wasn't bad for a rider highly unimpressive the whole year prior to the race.
3. Team performance: like Galdeano said, the team took care of its leader and more than ever looked like a proper GT team. The team looked like a well-drilled machine with clear orders. Improvement.

Stage 21 results (full results here):

• (1, John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano), 2:44:57)
• 10, Gorka Verdugo, s.t.
• 57, Rubén Pérez, s.t.
• 59, Juan José Oroz, s.t.
• 77, Igor Antón, s.t.
• 89, Iván Velasco, s.t.
• 90, Amets Txurruka, s.t.
• 105, Romain Sicard, s.t.
• 119, Mikel Landa, 0:25
• 130, Mikel Astarloza, 0:32

Final general classification:

• (1, Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), 84:59:49)
• 9, Igor Antón, 14:01
• 11, Gorka Verdugo, 16:22
• 26, Iván Velasco, 48:42
• 30, Amets Txurruka, 55:01
• 44, Romain Sicard, 1:33:05
• 48, Mikel Astarloza, 1:38:48
• 50, Juan José Oroz, 1:39:53
• 69, Mikel Landa, 2:03:12
• 75, Rubén Pérez, 2:10:05

Points classification:

• (1, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), 199)
• 16, Igor Antón, 49
• 20, Gorka Verdugo, 43
• 28, Rubén Pérez, 31
• 60, Romain Sicard, 12
• 65, Mikel Astarloza, 10

Mountains classification:

• (1, Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge), 63)
• 16, Rubén Pérez, 10
• 31, Romain Sicard, 4

Combination classification:

• (1, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), 8)
• 22, Rubén Pérez, 119
• 29, Romain Sicard, 135

Teams classification:

• (1, Movistar, 254:52:4)
• 2, Euskaltel, 9:40
• (3, Ag2r, 20:19)

Photo: @Vuelta

Naturgas shut out by Caja Rural

Naturgas Energía were no match for the all-conquering Caja Rural outfit in today's Lehendakari-race in Bermeo, the green squad taking the first four places.

Importantly though, Imanol Estévez grabbed sixth and with it some vital points in the chase for overall leadership of the series. Debabarrena's Aitor González remains in the lead, but did not place top ten today.

Eventual winner Jesus del Pino, turning 22 today, jumped clear with team-mates Molina, who won yesterday's race in Urduliz, and Rubén Fernández, second on Saturday, on the last time going up the Sollube, a punishing ascent towards the end of the 94km race. Frenchman Loïc Chetout, pictured above, grabbed eight to make sure the red and white team had two riders inside the top ten.

Results LII Circuito Sollube, Bermeo:

• 1, Jesus del Pino (Caja Rural), 2:09:52
• 2, Antonio Molina (Caja Rural), s.t.
• 3, Rubén Fernández (Caja Rural), s.t.
• 4, Miguel Ángel Benito (Caja Rural), s.t.
• 5, Ander Plazaola (Koplad Uni2), 1:38
• 6, Imanol Estévez (Naturgas Energía), 1:50
• 7, Marcos Jurado (Seguros Bilbao), 2:10
• 8, Loïc Chetout (Naturgas Energía), s.t.
• 9, Dario Hernández (Caja Rural), s.t.
• 10, Jon Iriarte (Bidelan-Kirolgi), s.t.

Photo: Pascal Baudron