Antón - It's time to pick up the phone

Contrary to earlier reports, Igor Antón admits he's on the lookout for another team.

While it should hardly come as a surprise that one of the greatest climbers in the sport is making sure he's got a job next year, it'll come as a bitter blow to the fans who'd been hoping that one of the biggest names on the team would take a 'wait and see'-approach for a little while longer. Just ten days ago, word was that he would do just that.

As July turns into August, the 30-year-old has though wisely decided that it's high time to look to the future.

"By September, the team needs to submit some documentation to the UCI", he tells Marca. "That means we have to resolve the sponsorship issue in August. Seeing as many businesses are closed for the summer or operating slowly at the moment, it all looks bad.

"We've been advised to look for new teams as a new sponsor coming on board isn't looking likely. It could have been worse, though. It would have been too soon to change teams before now, but it's time to pick up the phone. I hope to get some offers from WorldTour teams. I can't lean back at this moment in time".

Some have linked Antón with fellow Basque Joxean "Matxin" Fernández and Lampre-Merida, while others again are undoubtedly keen to see him bolstering Alberto Contador's ranks at Saxo Bank. Antón himself doesn't appear too stressed out about which team he'll end up with.

"At World Tour level, they're all good", he says. "The positive side of all of this is the motivation and excitement I would feel about riding in another country, meeting new team-mates and learning new ways of racing. At Euskaltel, it's always been easy to stay a 'family' with people from your own region."

While quite a few are calling Euskaltel's supposed death somewhat premature seeing as it's only the 1st of August, Antón himself is remaining decidedly negative.

"For the riders and fans who've been a part of this team", he tells el Mundo Deportivo, "we're living the final moments of Euskaltel Euskadi".

Photo: BCPT