Logo war heading for peace

The unique tussle between Euskaltel and the Basque government over the green 'Euskadi'-logo on the team's shirts and shorts may be heading for a solution, el Diario Vasco today reports.

The Basque newspaper writes that Fundación Euskadi president Miguel Madariaga and two representatives from the government met yesterday to discuss the matter. According to Madariaga, the meeting was a good one.

"The meeting was quite contructive", he said. "We got together to try and reach an agreement. I told them we can't possibly do what they've asked of us this year - we can't replace the jerseys, cars and buses. The cost would be too big"

As reported earlier, kit manufacturer Moa would have to come up with 225 ooo euros and casual wear manufacturer Astore 115 ooo euros - in addition to the 125 ooo euros it would take to change the logos on the cars and buses.

Changing the logo for the Vuelta a España and a selection of other races was discussed though.

"We agreed they'd send us a proposal in writing", Madariaga stated.

The team is already lacking 475 000 euros to cover this year's budget. If the Basque government was to pull the plug on their backing, it would leave the team in search of approximately 900 000 euros.