Strong Euskaltel performance in Autun

Euskaltel have continued their strong showing in the Tour these last two days. With Gorka in the break yesterday, and with Rubén and Iñaki 12th and 20th in the sprint, it was a good outing for the whole team on stage 4. Today`s hilly 5th stage saw four Euskaltel riders finish inside the leading group. Iñigo tried to surprise the sprinters with an attack inside the last 400 metres, but, even though he led the peloton for a while, he wasn`t successful. He ended up 18th eventually, but the most important thing is that he looks to be in good shape for the first time this year. Expect Iñigo to be in important breaks the next few days. Haimar and Mikel both of course came in with the main group, meaning that Mikel now occupies 8th spot on GC. Haimar is further back, but still well within touching distance of the leaders going into the Alps. They both look focused and concentrated, and I like the fact that they both stay in the front of the pack on most stages. There`s been a lot of crashes so far in this Tour, and it`s no secret they occur at the back of the peloton. The 4th Euskaltel rider to come in with the leaders today was Rubén, who looks to be in the shape of his life these days. Igor came in 28 seconds back, again, so I`m not sure what to make of his form. Jorge, Amets and Iñaki all came in only 1:20 back, so they`re doing okay. Gorka suffered a bit from yesterday`s efforts, coming in 4:29 adrift, but I don`t worry about him, he`ll always cope and come through. I hope the guys will take it easy tomorrow, so that the batteries are all charged up for the Alps coming on Saturday. Aupa Euskaltel!

Iban sum-up

Great start for Iban, no doubt about that. A good prologue, only a minute down on Cancellara, and with no accidents of any kind so far means it`s all looking rosy for Iban. Considering that he did the Giro only a month back I`m really impressed. He`s stated that he`ll use these first few "sprinter"-stages to get back into competitive form. The Alps are only a few days away now, and he`ll no doubt be on the attack. Though, I`m convinced the Pyrenees are more suited to a rider like Iban, but he`ll be in the mix on any mountain top anyway I think. Saturday`s stage should give us some indication on Iban`s form, and I think we`ll be pleased with it. If Iban just manages to stay out trouble, he`ll do a great Tour I`m sure. Aupa Iban! (By the way, I`m sorry for the lack of pictures, but something is not quite right with my internet connection right now, again, so uploading pics isn`t possible at the time being.)

Euskaltel sum-up

Euskaltel have got off to quite a good start in the Tour I must say. Mikel was excellent in the prologue, and after capturing bonus points on today`s stage, is now 10th on GC. That`s awesome from Mikel, and it certainly looks like he`s hitting top form just at the right time. Rubén Pérez has also been impressive, riding a good prologue and showing his great form on the second stage. He`s now something like 22nd overall; no mean feat from a first-timer. On the bad side, Haimar didn`t do a good prologue. Where his TT skills have gone, I don`t know, but expect him to be prominent when the road starts to go uphill nonetheless. Igor lost a bit of time today, but I`m not worried about him. Actually I reckon it would be good for him to lose some time early on, so that he can break away in the Alps without the whole bunch chasing him. Igor`s a good bet for a stage-win I think. The rest of the team has been doing okay so far. Luckily none got injured in that nasty pile-up on stage 2, so everyone should be fit and ready for the remaining 17 stages. Aupa!

Finally...

So, I`m finally back. I`m sorry for my delay, I know I said I would be back posting on Sunday. Though, our network has been down since I got home, and it will likely stay down for a couple of days yet. I`m writing this post from my neighbours`s laptop, and I`ll hopefully get to post some short pieces the next few days using it. Though, I won`t be able to post as regularly and as up-to-date as I would have liked, but I guess it`s better than no thing, right? I`ll let you know once I`m back "for real", but, nonetheless, tune in to Iban Mayo Blog
for some sporadic updates the coming days.

Back on Sunday

I`m going for a short vacation now, and won`t be back until Sunday. That in turn means I won`t be able to update my blog until then I`m afraid. I`m terribly sorry, but be sure I`ll blog as hell once I get back home. Until then, aupa Iban!

Please sign, Iban...

Iban will hopefully put pen to paper on UCI`s anti-doping chart in the coming days. All other Saunier Duval riders who`ll do the Tour have done so, but Iban`s name is still nowhere to be found on the list of committed riders. Though, he`ll certainly sign it soon, but the faster the better.

Igor and Koldo prolong

Following in the wake of the news that Euskaltel will stay a cycling team until 2010 at the very least, two of the best young riders have committed their future to the team. Climbing prodigy Igor Antón has signed a new deal that will keep him in orange until 2010, while super sprinter Koldo Fernández has penned a deal that will keep him there until 2009. Fantastic news for all Euskaltel fans, as they both opted to stay despite interest from other Pro Tour teams.

Euskaltel until 2010

The great news is just in: Basque telecommunication giant Euskaltel has extended it`s sponsorship deal with the Euskaltel-Euskadi team until 2010. That means at least three more years for the orange-clad heroes from the Basque country.

Landaluze: "I signed under pressure"

Iñigo Landaluze has confirmed what I`ve been afraid of for some time now, that he, along with the rest of the Euskaltel riders, has signed UCI`s anti-doping agreement under pressure from the UCI itself, race sponsors etc. He said to DEIA that the UCI could have done better work on the chart, and that he`s afraid it`s not legal. He didn`t sign it out of his own will, something which I have to admit is a bit worrying.

New Iban video

I just found this really cool video of Iban in the Dauphiné last year, on the stage where he placed second behind breakaway-member Ludovic Turpin. It`s something like 5 minutes long, and covers all the drama of the stage. Definetely worth to watch: http://www.dailymotion.com/juju007/video/x16ldg_iban-mayo-dauphine-2006

Good Euskaltel performance in nationals

Euskaltel enjoyed a good showing in the Spanish National Championship road race today. Amets Txurruka got an excellent 8th place, while Jon Bru and Iban Mayoz were also well ahead and placed 12th and 19th respectively. In addition, Iban Mayoz and Juanjo Oroz were present in breaks throughout the day, so they can be proud of their achievements today. Results:

• 8th, Amets Txurruka, 0:22
• 12th, Jon Bru, 0:25
• 19th, Iban Mayoz, 0:30
• 38th, Juanjo Oroz, 0:52
• 81st, Beñat Albizuri, 1:03
• 96th, Markel Irizar, 1:55
• 101st, Iñaki Isasi, 1:55
• 122nd, Alán Pérez, 3:27

The five others who took to the start in Cuenca today abandoned.

Iban interview

I decided to translate a whole interview with Iban from Spanish to English just for you. It`s a lot of work, so I hope you`ll enjoy it. Read on to find out more about Iban`s Tour preparations, his form, his ambitions etc. From El Correo:

• El Correo: You go to the Tour this year on the back of a stage-win in the Giro. Are you more relaxed this year compared to other years?
• Iban: Yeah, that win gave me desire to keep on doing my job. To win in this sport gives you a lot of illusions, so my moral is definetely intact.
• El Correo: Is that one of your objectives in the Tour? To win another stage?
• Iban: Yes. I finished the Giro feeling fresh, and I want to do the same in the Tour. I know that if I win a stage, I`ve done a good race. It`s necessary to wait for, and to take advantage of, that day (when it`s possible for me to win).
• El Correo: Have you stopped riding for the GC?
• Iban: Yes, I have. I prefer to go for stages. In the Giro, I could perhaps have ended up among the 15 best, but at the end of the day it`s more important to win a stage. It`s got more importance. Who remembers the name of the rider in fourth place? The fans and the spectators remember the riders who win in the mountains. In addition, if you go for a high overall placing, you can lose it all on one bad day.
• El Correo: Your team, Saunier Duval, arrives at the Tour with more than 20 victories so far already this season. The team has kind of done it all, they`ve done more than expected.
• Iban: In the Giro, Simoni was the unquestionable leader. However, for the Tour we don`t have a candidate for the overall. Because of that, we go to the Tour with a different mentality. We`ll go for stage-wins. With Millar, we have a great chance of winning the prologue. The rest of us will try to be protagonists, like De La Fuente was last year.
• El Correo: In last year`s Tour, you abandoned in Viella, on the stage which ended on the Plá de Beret. Is it still difficult and hard to think about it?
• Iban: Man, the retirement affected me a lot then. It hurt. I felt very down. But, I came back. Now I go the Tour with different illusions.
• El Correo: Is that the badest memory of last year`s race?
• Iban: Yes, it was surely the badest. I felt good coming in to the Tour, but it all went bad. I could not keep up with the pace. It was the same that had happened in other editions of the Tour. I`ve thought a lot about it. I know that I can`t get any worse than that, so no matter what I do this time around, it can only get better.
• El Correo: What does the psychological element in cycling mean to you?
• Iban: It affects me. When things go badly.... The confidence is fundamental. When I feel good, I try to be a protagonist and to hunt for stages. But when I`m bad, yeah, perhaps I get a little down. I`m a fighter on the bike.
• El Correo: What`s changed since you turned pro in 2000?
• Iban: A lot. Now the pressure affects me. And I value more and more the people who are always with me. I see everything more tranquillo. You learn that some people you like, and some people you don`t.
• El Correo: Have you noticed less support than earlier when you rode for Euskaltel?
• Iban: People support me just as much. Nobody has ever said anything about me leaving Euskaltel. I know that Euskaltel is like Athletic (Bilbao). It`s the local team. But in cycling the fans are more dedicated to riders than to teams. The ones who supported me before, support me now.
• El Correo: Are you the rider you hoped to become?
• Iban: I`ve won more races and done greater things than I ever thought was possible when I started out. When I made my debut as a pro, the others were much better than me. But then suddenly I started winning races I never even thought about winning. But, is`s true, when I won those big races, I saw myself winning things I haven`t been able to win. But, right now, I`m content with my palmarès. I`ve won more than I thought I would.
• El Correo: There`s one win missing though; a stage in the Pyrenees in front of the fans.
• Iban: Yeah, that`s true. If I won a stage in the Pyrenees, I could have retired straight away being happy with what I`ve done. Years ago, people spoke of me as a future Tour winner. But I can`t do it. For that reason, a stage-win would make me happy.
• El Correo: Especially if you win the stage that crosses the border into Navarra, the stage with the Larrau and the Aubisque.
• Iban: That`s true. I went to see that stage, and to ride parts of it. It`s the hardest stage of the Tour. The Larrau is a terrible climb. You suffer. It wouldn`t be bad if I was a protagonist there. I feel better now than in the Giro, but I guess everyone is feeling good coming in to the Tour. The competition will be harder here than in the Giro.
• El Correo: The Tour started last year with the exclusions of Mancebo, Ullrich, Basso, Astana and Sevilla. Though, it turned out to be a spectacular race with unexpected twists. The spectators again felt captivated by the racing. But, the bad thing happened three days after the race came to an end, as Landis returned a positive test.
• Iban: Yeah, people like to see races like last year`s Tour. It`s not interesting with a totally dominating rider. The spectators prefer to see riders failing, and then returning. I like that kind of racing. Last year`s race was attractive to watch, with entertaining riders.
• El Correo: Like Iban Mayo...
• Iban: The good thing is that there are several rider with a chance to win. The viewers like to see that the riders are human beings after all, as that`s a great spectacle. When it comes to me... It`s good for the show that the riders have to go through bad moments, but when it happens to me, they`re perhaps too bad.

Iban further talked a bit about the state cycling is in at the moment, and that everyone is to blame for it really. He`s concerned about the future of cycling, and the last thing he said was: "The truth is that I see a quite dark future for our sport".

Iban to focus on stages

Iban will go for stages in this year`s Tour, not the overall. Iban said this to DEIA yesterday, stating: "Through the years I`ve learned what the Tour is about. I will not go for the GC. If I could choose between a stage-win and a fourth or fifth place on GC, I would have chosen the stage-win. Everybody remembers me from 2003 because of my win on the Alpe d`Huez, not because I was 6th overall. I`ll do the Tour in hope of winning a stage, but if the opportunity of a high overall placing arises, I`ll perhaps take both. I showed this in the Giro; if I had given it my all every day, I could have ended up between the first 15 on GC, but, in the end, a stage-win was better for me".

Iban unhappy with anti-doping chart

Iban has stated his disapproval of UCI`s new anti-doping chart. Speaking exclusively to DEIA yesterday, Iban said: "I don`t want to (sign the decleration). But there`s no option. If I don`t, I won`t be able to ride the Tour, the team wouldn`t renew my contract, and it would leave me unemployed. It`s sad, but we just have to do what the UCI tells us, it`s like we don`t have a mind of our own".