Respectable Worlds debut for Euskaltel

The team time trial World Championships in Valkenburg was nothing like the embarrassing showing many might have expected beforehand from an Euskaltel-point of view, 'the Carrots' claiming a decent 16th out of the 32 participating teams.

The six Euskaltel riders, who were forced to rely on Miguel Minguez in the place of the sick Juan José Oroz, looked dialled-in and coordinated throughout, and took advantage of the short and tough climbs on the 53,2km course to post a provisional best time. Eventually, they, "they" being Mikel Astarloza, Gorka Verdugo, Romain Sicard, Minguez and the Izagirres, ended up 2:30 down on gold winners Omega Pharma - Quick Step in 16th place, a few seconds behind Ag2r and just ahead of Lotto - Belisol. Only one non-World Tour outfit managed to go quicker than the men in orange (RusVelo).

Movistar, featuring Basque powerhouse Jonathan Castroviejo, ended up sixth, while Haimar Zubeldia and RadioShack finished up eighth. Egoitz García's Cofidis ended up way back in 21st, while former Euskaltel man Javier Aramendía and his Caja Rural team came in 29th.

Full results here.