Sánchez - I'm not looking for a new team

Samuel Sánchez is one rider who will not have any trouble finding a new employer should Euskaltel indeed cease to exist come the end of the season.

The team's riders were allegedly told by Euskaltel officials that they're free to look for new teams ahead of Saturday's Clásica de San Sebastián. While quite a few will undoubtedly be forced to go job hunting in the lower echelons of professional and amateur cycling, 'Samu', one of the leading lights of Spanish cycling for the better part of a decade, has numerous suitors lined up for him.

According to the man himself, though, no one's told him he's free to look for another job.

"I know nothing of what was said on the bus. No one's told me that the team is disappearing", he tells his home region's newspaper, El Comercio. "Therefore I'm not looking for a new team. I've still got two years running on my contract".

"There's uncertainty regarding the team, but I can't do anything other than to push the pedals - I've got some very big goals coming up in the rest of the season".

The team's big riders have been linked with various teams in recent weeks, but Sánchez claims he knows "nothing about that". The 35-year-old is even claiming "there's time to fix things", saying all hope's not lost yet.

Sánchez was speaking from his training camp in the Sierra Nevadas, where he's currently preparing for the Vuelta a España and the Worlds in August and September.