Aramendía aggressive in Tirreno

Euskaltel, and Javier Aramendía in particular, put their mark on today's first stage proper of the Tirreno-Adriatico. Just three kilometres in, Aramendía slipped away along with Giordani and Kaisen to form the main break of the day. The Euskaltel youngster successfully bested the Italian at both KOMs, and thus got the honour of donning the climber's jersey at stage's end. Going into the third stage, he holds a four-point lead on the Farnese Vini rider. Thanks to his day-long exploits, he's also second only to eventual stage-winner Farrar in the points classification. The trio were never even close to holding off the pack, though, and were reeled in a full 40 kilometres from the line. As the break was caught so soon, several riders subsequently tried to break clear again. Lanky all-rounder JJ Oroz was one of those, but he never really got far. In the sprint for the win, none of the Euskaltel guys managed to mix it up. Only Castroviejo, Martínez and Jon Izagirre managed to stay with the peloton all the way to the line, while Velasco and Oroz conceded 12 seconds. The remaining three, Txurruka, Sesma and Aramendía, ended up 1:31 adrift. In the team rankings, Euskaltel are still dead last.

Paris-Nice stage 4

Another day at Paris-Nice has passed without Euskaltel really putting their mark on it. The hilly fourth stage would have suited several of the riders one would assume, but none of the riders managed to get into the break of the day and thus missed out on the chance of a stage-victory. To his credit, Pierre Cazaux gave it a good go early on, but picked the wrong move. Samu had a scare when he hit the deck on a descent 70 kilometres in, but luckily came through unscathed. Except for that there's not much to tell, it all went by with Euskaltel not really present. Gladly, all but two of the riders, i.e. Pierre Cazaux and Jorge Azanza, came home with the peloton. The duo crossed the line in a big group some 13 minutes back. Tomorrow's stage, with it's descent off the cat. 1 Col de la Mûre coming just 8 clicks from the line, should suit Samu to perfection, so watch out for him then.

Team time trial travesty

As feared, Euskaltel did not get off to a good start in the Tirreno-Adriatico. "The race of the two seas" commenced today with a 16,8km team time trial on an out-and-back course in Marina di Carrera, and the guys in orange came in dead last, 1:13 down on the impressive Rabobank team. Not much more to say really, as I didn't get to see the stage myself. Maybe they lacked rhythm, or maybe it just didn't click for them on the day. Anyway, they're facing a flat 202km trek from Carrara to Indicatore tomorrow, so hopefully they can get in the action then.

Bilbao signs contract

Pello Bilbao today put pen to paper on his two-year deal with Euskaltel, writes Biciciclismo. The 21-year-old was drafted in after Koldo Fernández crashed and broke his collarbone last month, making Euskaltel short number-wise for the spring. As the team is only assured of sponsorship through 2012, he only signed a two-year deal. But if the likely scenario of Euskaltel continuing to sponsor the team materializes, the team has an option for another couple of years, effectively meaning he'll be around 'till 2015 at least. It was revealed that the young climber will, to a certain degree, take part in the races he was scheduled for with Orbea, and that he'll make his debut alongside Samu Sánchez and Romain Sicard in the Criterium International. "Today is a big and important day for us", Miguel Madariaga told the assembled press at a low-key presentation at the team's headquarters in Derio. "Another young talent, just 21 years old, has come through the ranks and turned pro. We don't want to push him, but we need him. La Fundación Euskadi is putting in a lot of work at the grasroots level, and we'll continue that way." Madariaga also emphasized that Bilbao is not a direct replacement for Fernández. According to the Fundación president, he was fast-tracked to ensure Euskaltel have the needed personnel come spring. Bilbao is, like a few other riders with Orbea and Naturgas, studying physical education at the IVEF. But, despite him now being a full-time pro, he's likely to keep it up, at least for the time being.

Martínez wins polkadots of '09

Due to the CAS uphelding the UCI's suspension of Franco Pellizotti and subsequent cancellation of his results from May in 2009 and onwards, it seems like our own Egoi Martínez, orginally runner-up in that particular competition two years ago, will be declared the winner of the polkadot jersey that year. The duo fought a close battle for the jersey for several stages, but in the last week Pellizotti proved too strong and won by quite the margin. It now seems, though, that he'll get his jersey after all to go with his mountains jersey in the Vuelta. Not that I think Egoi himself will be too pleased about it all.

Landa to have surgery

Crash-victim Mikel Landa will undergo surgery on his broken right collarbone tomorrow afternoon, the team's official website writes. The 21-year-old is likely to be back on the rollers within a week, but as of yet there's no time-frame set on when he'll retake competition.

Paris-Nice stage 3

The biggest news of the day as far as Euskaltel were concerned, came before the race had even started. Romain Sicard decided not to start the stage as he's suffering from severe pain in his right knee. It's a major let-down for the rider and team alike, but hopefully it's short-term. There's no word yet on how long he might be sidelined for, but you can rest assured I'll tell you all as soon as I find out.

As for the racing, it was unspectacular at best. After the day's breakaway-quintet had been reeled in, the wily Thomas Voeckler launched a perfectly anticipated counter-move. Gorka Izagirre tried desperately to go with him, but his legs let him down and he was soon back in the peloton. Euskaltel did not succeed in fighting for the top placings in the sprint, but at least the seven remaining riders came home safe and sound in the peloton.

Larrinaga close in Llodio

Jon Larrinaga put on a brave performance in yesterday's Torneo Euskdalun-race in Llodio. The youngster, a veteran of the team, got into the break of the day early on, and it proved to be a wise move as his group for once stayed away all the way to the line. He eventually had to settle for fifth, though, a mere 23 seconds down on victor Montenegro. Merino wasn't far off either, coming home 11th at just 28 seconds. Álex Bilbao grabbed a decent 17th at 1:44, while Alain González and Karl Baurdon came in side by side 8:06 in arrears. Rory Martínez and Saturday's hero Grijalba did the same 8:28 back. Post-race, Aritz Arberas was happy and rightly so, with his riders, and pointed out that the team finished second in the team rankings as well.

Status quo in Paris-Nice

Euskaltel continue to keep a low profile this season. In today's second stage of the Paris-Nice, none of the riders got in among the breaks or animated the race in any way. And in the sprint for the stage-win, all the team could muster was Urtasun's 21st place. Everyone came in with the pack, though, so Samu and co. have still got a chance for overall glory. Hopefully they'll start to mix it up later in the week when the stages get harder and more undulating. Watch out for Gorka Izagirre to give it a shot any day.

Line-ups for Tirreno and San Remo

Euskaltel Euskadi have revealed the eight-rider team that will contest, first, the Tirreno-Adriatico stage-race starting this Wednesday, then la classicissima on Saturday the 19th. Alvaro González de Galdeano, ably assisted by new-boy Domenico Cavallo, will lead the following riders: Javier Aramendia, Jonathan Castroviejo, Jon Izairre, Egoi Martínez, Juan José Oroz, Daniel Sesma, Amets Txurruka and Ibán Velasco.

Paris-Nice stage 1

The Race to the Sun kicked off today with a 154km stage starting and ending in the small town of Houdan just outside Paris. Gorka Izagirre was at his aggressive best and got into the day's dominating break together with Damien Gaudin of Europcar. The two were given no chance by the peloton, though, and were reeled in 40 kilometres out. On the day's one and only KOM, Euskaltel's representative was eventually out-paced by his breakaway companion, and thus missed out on the opportunity to don the polkadot jersey. Once the duo were caught, another break got up the road. This group was more successful and somehow managed to hold off the hard-chasing, but nonchalant, peloton. None of the riders managed to fight for the top positions, but everyone, bar the tired Izagirre and designated sprinter Urtasun, managed to stay with the hard-chasing pack. Izagirre trailed by 54 seconds, while Urtasun was way behind, 8:20 to be precise. On the menu for the riders tomorrow is a 199km flat trek from Montfort l'Amaury to Amilly.

Murcia concludes

The Vuelta a Murcia came to a close today with a concluding 12,4km long ITT in and around Murcia. Euskaltel were, just like they were the two previous days, nowhere close to recording a result of note. Jon Izagirre was the top finisher in 37th, 1:03 down, so at least the young Izagirre can be relatively pleased with his ride. Minguez did okay to finish 52nd at 1:14, while Rubén Pérez finished in 54th, a further second back. Alan Pérez was 71st at 1:31, Igor Antón a distant 77th at a big 1:35, and Nieve was 80th at 1:37. These results led to the following GC:

• 23rd, Miguel Minguez
• 49th, Mikel Nieve
• 53rd, Igor Antón
• 104th, Jon Izagirre
• 105th, Rubén Pérez
• 108th, Alan Pérez

Obviously not the results you would hope for, but it's still early days. A first win of the season would no doubt lift the pressure on the team, though.

Grijalba conquers GP Ereño

Fernando Grijalba impressively prevailed in the mountainous GP Ereño (or the Ereñoko Udala Sari Nagusia if you want) today. Having won the race twice through former rider Noel Martín, who's now riding for Orbea, Naturgas continued their strong-hold on the race with a dominant performance throughout. Promising Frenchman Loic Chetout got into the break of the day and stayed out there for a while. Naturally it didn't come to anything, but the youngster impressively soldiered on to finish fourth after being reeled in by the pack. He went on to finish just 18 seconds down on his team-mate. Chetout also secured the 'intermediate sprint jersey' and the jersey for the best climber, while the team naturally took out the team award. Awesome performance. It doesn't really get much better than that!

Euskaltel appoint DS duo

Euskaltel Euskadi have decided to expand their staff by adding two new directors of sport. Iñigo Urretxua, a native of Algorta, has been working with the Naturgas Energía outfit along with main DS Aritz Arberas for a few years and will now be given the chance with Euskaltel in Paris-Nice. He'll join the seasoned and experienced Gorka Gerrikagoitia in the team car.

Former Vitalicio Seguros and T-Mobile DS Domenico Cavallo will join Alvaro González de Galdeano in the team car for Tirreno-Adriatico. The Italian ex-pro, who count a certain Igor González de Galdeano among his former charges when with Vitalicio, will also join the team for the Giro in May, with Euskaltel hoping to capitalise on his expertise in everything Italian cycling. "We needed someone like Domenico", big-brother Galdeano told DEIA. "He's a good director who knows Italian cycling inside out. He'll be good for us."