Firsanov refused to sign with Euskaltel

Russian rider Sergey Firsanov (RusVelo) revealed to F-Sport that he was offered a contract by Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano and Euskaltel but refused to sign because of multiple reasons. The Russian, who had a breakthrough year with a stage and overall win at the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid along with 4th overall at the Tour of Belgium and 5th overall at the Tour of Norway, stated that he refused to sign with the Basque squad because he did not want to switch from an all-Russian squad. Firsanov continued by saying that he "would not be able to put (his) soul" into a foreign squad such as Euskaltel that had such a different culture and mentality. Another reason he provided was the Basque fans that were outraged by the move by Euskaltel to become a multi-cultural team.

Firsanov stock rose considerably after an outstanding year but he came to understand that if he moved to Euskaltel that he would be working for team star Samuel Sanchez, something that didn't sit too well with the Russian who has Tour de France dreams of his own. Euskaltel will most likely be riding against the talent that could have possibly been theirs at some point this year in Spain and abroad.

Photo: eciclismo.com