Briefs

• Released Naturgas Energía rider Álex Bilbao has managed to land a spot on Cafés Baqué's team for 2012, www.biciciclismo.com reports. The 21-year-old failed to come up with the top results his talent merits during his three years at the red team, and will hope to kick on under former Euskaltel rider and DS Rubén Gorospe's tutelage.
• The seven Euskaltel riders set to take part the Tour Down Under will depart for Australia tomorrow, the team's website says. It'll be a long journey though: they're set to spend nights in Paris and in Singapore before touching down in Adelaide on Saturday, eight days ahead of the annual Down Under Classic. Iñaki Isasi will get his DS bow at the event. Roster: Romain Sicard, Rubén Pérez, Victor Cabedo, Ricardo García, Pablo Urtasun, Gorka Izagirre and Adrián Sáez.
• Six sub-23 riders and seven juniors have been selected by the Basque Cycling Federation to ride the cyclo-cross national championships this coming weekend, BiciCiclismo writes. Jon and Iñigo Gómez, David Hidalgo, Jon Ander Insausti, Jonathan Lastras and Peio Goikoetxea will take part in Saturday's under-23 race, while Jonathan Bilbao, Alex Aranburu, Julen Quintano, Eneko Corrales, Xabier Goikoetxea, Aritz Hernández and Josu Urretarazu will line up in the junior race on Sunday.
• Click this link to see up and close photographs of the Down Under-bound riders in training.