Romain's 2010 plans

Igor González de Galdeano yesterday revealed Romain's races for the first part of the coming season. The precocious 22-year-old will start out with the Tour du Haut Var, and will look to do well in Paris-Nice after that. The Belgian Classics, namely Wevelgem, Vlaanderen, Roubaix and the Trois Jours de la Panne, are next up, before he'll tackle some Spanish races; Llodio, Asturias and Rioja. After that it's time for the Tour de Picardie, Bayern Rundfahrt and the Dauphiné, before the first part of his season comes to a close with the French National Championships. He'll not do the Tour, but I'm crossing my fingers he'll line up at the start of the Vuelta in Sevilla. Keep an eye on this amazingly gifted boy from Hazparne.

Euskaltel to start independent testing

In a move to avoid last year's doping scandals repeating themselves and to ensure their sponsors' continued loyalty, Euskaltel have signed an agreement with a laboratory in Zamudio to carry out internal doping controls in addition to the UCI, WADA and all the other anti-doping agencies. Each rider will be tested between four and six times, with a quarter of those to be surprise tests. The team wont go public with the results, but the sponsors will have unrestricted access. It will cost Euskaltel 400 000 euros to finance the testing, but it's definetely worth it, both for the sport in general, and for the future of the team in particular.

Gorka making strides

Gorka, who recently made a good impression in the Tour Down Under, says that his training is going well, and that he feels fitter than at the same time last year. "I feel better compared to previous years at this time of year. Training data shows my progression. I do more watts and all that. And the sensations in the TDU were better than anticipated." Gorka will take to the line in Haut Var and the Criterium International before he takes on the Belgian Classics and Romandie.

De Lis to look out for Koldo

Youngster Sergio De Lis has got a clear objective for the coming season: to help Koldo in the sprints. "They (the team directors) have told me to help Koldo in the sprints. But when he's not there or the parcours is too hilly for him, I'll look to get into breaks or help my team-mates. I learned a lot last year (his first as a pro), and I think the experience I got will help me a lot this year. Last year I was a bit stressed out with my weight. Now I know when to eat and all that. I'm really looking forward to getting started". Sergio's early-season calendar will, among other races, consist of the Mallorca Challenge and the Tour de Haut Var, but he'll aim to peak for the spring Classics. "I have to be in top form for the Classics. I've always been attracted to those races and I hope to ride them".

Ill Romain leaves camp

Under-23 World Champ and Tour de l'Avenir winner Romain Sicard abandoned Euskaltel's training camp in Derio yesterday due to suffering from gastroenteritis, or stomach flu as it's more commonly known. Romain will join up with his team-mates again on the 2nd of February though, so that he can take part in the official team presentation in Bilbao. The illness is not thought to keep him out of action for long.

Iván hoping for a healthy year

Iván Velasco, who spent much of last year on the sidelines due to injury, is hoping for an injury-free season ahead. Speaking to el Diario Vasco, the 18th place finisher in the Tour Down Under had this to say: "Yes, I'm satisfied with my first race of the season. You're always a bit nervous ahead of the first race of the year, but the sensations have been good and the result I achieved has given me confidence after a year blighted by crashes and injuries. It's been a hard winter in Oñati. I stayed at home the whole off-season, so you can imagine how it's been to train in the snow. I spent a few days riding in the velodrome, but generally I've been riding on the roads." Speaking of his plans for the season, he said: "I have had to start the season well. I haven't done a lot of specific training though, so I expect to get better with each race. Next up for me is the Mallorca Challenge, and after that it's the Tour de Haut Var, Paris-Nice, Volta a Catalunya, GP Miguel Indurain, Klasika Amorebieta, Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallonne, Liège and then the Tour de Romandie. I don't have any specific objectives. I'll take it day by day and hope to improve like I did until 2008. I hope I'll get to race more than last year when I only did about 40 days. I'm still a little jet-lagged, so I went with the second group in training today. I haven't slept all night." Speaking of Twitter, the amiable rider said: "It's going pretty well. In Australia I posted a lot. I've always been a fan of utilising new technologies, and I think it's a good way to connect with the fans."

Galdeano has the faith

Igor González de Galdeano has spoken of his firm belief in the class of 2010. Speaking to DEIA, he said: "It's going to be a special year, because the team has been renewed with a lot of young, promising riders. Sicard is probably the one with the biggest future ahead of him. He's a great cyclist, and he's a great guy as well. He's got all you need to be successful in this sport." Speaking of the most important races for the team this season, it was the usual suspects: "The Spanish and Basque races - especially the Vuelta al País Vasco and the Vuelta a España - and the Tour. We don't win a lot of races, so we have to show ourselves as an aggressive team. As for Samu, he'll be stronger than ever in the Tour this year. He'll peak for the first time in March or April, and he'll be able to fight for the win in races like Paris-Nice and the Vuelta al País Vasco".

Basque legends turn cyclotoursists

A host of former Euskaltel and Basque legends will take part in the cyclosportive event Circuito Spiuk, to be held over four seperate days this year. Big-name riders like Miguel Induráin, Roberto Laiseka, Marino Lejarreta, Mikel Artexte, Pedro Horrillo, Joseba Beloki, Igor Astarloa, David Etxebarria, Mikel Zarrabeitia, César Solaun, Mikel Pradera and González Salvador will all take to the line on the 28th of March, the 9th of May, the 6th of June and on the 18th of July. Looks to be quite a show.

Koldo outlines 2010 objectives

Koldo has two clear goals for the 2010 season: winning a stage in the Vuelta and taking part in the Worlds in Melbourne. To reach those goals, Koldo will start his season in the Mallorca Challenge, before he goes on to the Volta ao Algarve. After that he'll take part in either Paris-Nice or his more traditional choise of the Tirreno-Adriatico. After that it's time for Milano-San Remo, before the Classics take the front seat, with Koldo pencilled in for Roubaix, Vlaanderen and Ghent-Wevelgem. "I've done those races for a few years now, and I like both the parcours and the atmosphere. The team wants me to do either the Klasika Amorebieta or the Vuelta a Castilla y León though, so we'll see", he's quoted as saying. The one-day races GP Llodio and Vuelta a la Rioja are next up, before the Tour de Picardie will close his first part of the season. He'll skip the Tour this year, and will instead focus on the Vuelta. To arrive at the start-line in Sevilla on top form, he'll do the Vuelta a Burgos and the Circuito de Getxo. He'll hope to close his season by taking part in the Worlds in Geelong, Melbourne, as Freire's right-hand man on the mainly flat route.

Galdeano pleased with TDU performance

Euskaltel's chief of, well, everything, Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano, has spoken to the press about his delight at his young team's performance in the first race of the year, the Pro Tour event Tour Down Under. "I think they (the riders), generally, did a very good job", he said. "It's not easy to compete with a team full of new riders. Let alone in a Pro Tour race. But they all raced without fear, and that's important if you hope to win".

Galdeano happy with "promising" riders

Head of Euskaltel Euskadi, Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano, told el Diario Vasco yesterday about his hopes for the young riders in the team. "We have riders with a great future ahead of them in this team", he enthused. "We hope their talent will show in their results already this coming season." Igor will no doubt look to unpolished diamonds Jonathan Castroviejo and Romain Sicard, as well as former Footon-Servetto rider Beñat Intxausti, to come up with the goods already in their first season with the team. Beñat is said to be targeting the shortes stage-races this year, along with a possible ride in the Vuelta towards the end of the year. I'd love to see him in the Tour though, as the rider tagged the new Ibán Mayo a couple of years back (or was that just me?), has certainly got the climbing abilities to shine in the Pyrenees and the Alps, as well as assisting Samu in his bid for overall glory. And, as Beñat has said himself, he's old enough to debut in the race. He's 24, and last year did his first Grand Tour, the Vuelta. He did pretty well there I think, getting close to a stage-win and riding consistently over the three weeks. But sadly he's not short listed for the Tour this season, but there's always the future for this excellent climber who turned pro at the tender age of 20.

Pablo suffering from tendinitis

Sprinter and one-day specialist Pabol Urtasun, one of the riders charged with bringing in the team's first win of the year, will have to delay his start to the season. The 31-year-old Urdiain native is suffering from tendinitis in his knee, and will thus take an enforced break from training and racing. The problem is not thought to be long-term though, so Pablo will be back in training pretty quickly.

Euskaltel to stage pre-season camp

Even though the season is well underway, Euskaltel will hold a week-long team camp in the usual location, that will be Derio in Bizkaia, from the 28 of January to the 3rd of February. The 3rd of February will also be the day of the official team presentation in the Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao. Just so you know.

Gorka Izagirre making waves Down Under

Gorka Izagirre, Euskaltel's new 23-year-old rider who joined from Contentpolis-AMPO in the close-season, put his name out there in his first Pro Tour race for the team. Gorka lined up with four other Pro Tour debutants in the recently-concluded Tour Down Under in Australia, and will no doubt look back at it as a success. Being active all through the race, from the Cancer Council Helpline Classic to the concluding crit on stage six, and placing a respectable 28th overall, is no mean feat for a Pro Tour newbie. Add that to the fact that he was away with Cadel Evans, Alejandro Valverde, Luis León Sánchez and Slovakian sensation Peter Sagan on the last climb up the Willunga Hill until a mere 1000 metres were left to go, and you've got one impressive overall performance indeed from the precocious 23-year-old. Coming up Willunga Hill in a small select group in third position just behind Lance was impressive.

Given that Gorka has been in and around the Spanish national team for quite a few years now along with the likes of Rafael Valls, Jonathan Castroviejo and Beñat Intxausti, I'd been expecting quite a bit from the Gipuzkoan. Though I wasn't expecting him to come up with the goods this fast. I won't complain though. Sadly, there's not a lot of talent coming out of Spain, let alone from the País Vasco, these days, or should I say years. But in Gorka I think we might have got one. He can obviously climb. He's fast, but not a sprinter. He's good on the flats. In his own words, he's an all-rounder who hasn't quite yet decided where to channel his efforts. But he's got time on his side. And if his progression to date in anything to go by, we might be looking at a future champ.