Staying

Yes, I'm staying. For a while at least. I couldn't let you all down by just leaving, so here we go again. I'll try to update it every day. That's try, not necessarily doing it everyday. But I'll give it my best to make the "deadline". Thanks for all the comments by the way, I really appreciated it. I guess an Euskaltel round-up is obligatory now, a lot has happened since my last post. First things first; a great start to the Vuelta for the team. The team time trial performance was sensational, nothing less. Second places would normally be irritating, but not this time. It was like a win. Great teamwork. Egoi looks to be coming into great shape, and he showed that on stage 2. He was easily the strongest out of the four in the break, including Ignatiev. Of course he was never going to succeed, but it was worth a shot.I expect to see him in more breaks in this race, perhaps he'll be going for the mountains jersey. I'd love to see him do that, as he's got what it takes to win it I reckon. He's won it before, so why not again? Koldo did okay to finish 4th yesterday, but he won't be too pleased I think. He's looking for wins this time around. He's stated he's unsure about his state of form at the moment, but I reckon he's in with a decent chance of nabbing a stage or two. Yesterday he lost all chances of winning with a kilometre to go, as he's was blocked off and forced to brake. If he can just get into the right position he'll be right up there with the very best. There's a race going on in Germany as well, the Deutchland Tour to be precise. Euskaltel have kept a low profile thus far, but Haimar's been doing pretty well to come home with the group of favourite's on each stage. He's 11th overall so far, and he's definetely got a chance to improve that position. "We're doing our best", he said in defence of the team. "It's the last race for me with Euskaltel, as I'll join Astana, and I'd like to go out on a high. A win would be nice, and I feel I have the possibility to grab one. I'm not too far off overall; I'm already thinking of the last time trial." Well done to Haimar, but I must say I'm disappointed that this is his last race. After all, the season's far from over. He owes it to the team to do his utmost 'till the season ends. Some of the riders though have already left the team. Dioni has, regrettably, followed Antton in retiring all together from the sport. Dioni pulled ouf of the ENECO Tour's first stage. Rumours circulated that he'd decided to retire, something which has later been confirmed. Retiring at 29 isn't good. Especially not so for a rider as talented as Dioni. He's had more than his fair share of injuries over the years, injuries which have continuously hampered his progression. I'm sad to see him leave, I think many are. I don't know what he'll do for a living now, but I hope he finds more meaning in whatever he'll do than what he got from professional cycling the last years. Dioni will be missed. So too will Lander, Beñat and Jon, none of whom will get their contracts extended with the team next year. They've all failed to impress this year, so, sadly, it wasn't a big surprise. Several other riders are also in the danger zone of not getting their contracts extended, among them Jorge, Aitor Galdos and Andoni to name but a few. Mikel Nieve will join the team next year, as earlier reported, and might be joined by Eriz Ruiz d'Erenxtun, Madariaga has revealed. I hope he does, as Eriz has put in some impressive performances this year.