All seven Euskaltel riders came through this morning's first Tour Down Under stage with their general classification hopes intact - though their sprint train still needs some work.
The 135km trek from Prospect to Lobethal saw German powerhouse André Greipel, entirely as expected, come out tops - and with some margin. Euskaltel, fielding a reasonably fast-finishing bunch of riders at the race, tried to get in on the act: The Izagirre brothers tried to set up new boy JJ Lobato for a tilt at the top placings, but the 24-year-old could only come away with 12th. Not far behind were Ion (14th) and Gorka (23rd).
The rest of the orange-clad riders, Bravo, Astarloza, Aberasturi and Oroz, also came in with the pack, and avoided ceding any time.
Despite being 32 years old, Ioannis Tamouridis is a relative newcomer to road racing. The multiple Greece national champion has only focused on the road exclusively for the last four years, having largely dedicated his maiden years as a cyclist to the boards.
This year, Tamouridis will take it to the next level of course, donning the famous orange garment of Euskaltel at the sport's top table. He won't take it easy to get accustomed to the longer distances and generally heavier work loads, though, with his first Grand Tour only four months away.
"I'll start the season at the Volta ao Algarve, before going on to the Tirreno-Adriatico", he told El Pedal de Frodo. "And, yes, I'll do the Giro d'Italia. I couldn't be happier to be given the chance to do that race, as I'll then become the first from my country to take part in a three-week race as well as riding on the WorldTour. I'm very pleased".
Speaking of season goals, the erstwhile SP Tableware stalwart become reticent, refraining from mentioning any races in particular. Obviously, though, given his background from the track, the time trials will be an aim.
"I hope to do well, help the team captains and generally just do the work I have to do", he said. "As well I hope to perform in races that include time trials and in hard races without big climbs - for stuff like that, this team already has a number of strong riders."
To round things off, Tamouridis added another voice to the chorus of riders waxing lyrical about the integration of the new riders into an already tight-knit group at the mainly Basque team.
"People here are very friendly, and therefore I'm glad to have joined this team. I'm very content, and I want to pay them back for the trust they've shown in me.
"For now, this team is like my second family. I feel at home here".
Spanish national champion Aitor Hernández will after all get to compete at the upcoming World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.
It was reported last week that the Ermua-Orbea rider would have to skip the worlds after the RFEC opted against paying for the riders' travel expenses. But now, less than two weeks before the race, his home town has come to his rescue.
The town council of Ermua has, according to BiciCiclismo, decided to chip in economically, allowing the former Euskaltel rider to test himself against the very best in the business.
The worlds will be held on Sunday the third of February.
Despite dominating the domestic cyclo-cross scene in a fashion rarely seen before from any rider, Aitor Hernández will not get to dispute the World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, in two weeks' time.
It's the same reason that has kept the Ermua-Orbea rider from competing internationally this season: he can't afford it. The RFEC, the Spanish Cycling Federation, decided earlier this week that they would not cover the riders' expenses, hence Hernández, Larrinaga, Murgoitio et al. have to dip into their own pockets to make their way over the Atlantic. The former Euskaltel roadie can't afford it, and Spain will thus be without its top representative in the first American worlds.
Hernández yesterday took his 19th triumph of a year that's seen him win the overall Superprestigio-crown, the Euskadi championships and the national championships.
New Euskaltel rider Juan José Lobato showed glimpses of his sprinting capabilities in today's precursor to the Tour Down Under, the People's Choice Classic.
The 24-year-old joined from Andalucía in the winter to bolster Euskaltel's sprint department, having earned a reputation as a budding top class sprinter with three impressive seasons behind him at the Professional Continental level.
He showed flashes of his ability Sunday morning, coming from far behind to finish a creditable 11th in a fractured dash for the line in which eventual victor André Greipel's Lotto-Belisol outfit split the leading group in two in the closing hundred metres.
The native of Trebujana, Cádiz, ended up just behind Yauheni Hutarovich and in front of big-name speedsters like Fenn, Farrar, Renshaw, Kittel and Van Hummel. Following not far behind were fellow Euskaltel debutants Jon Aberasturi in 30th and Gari Bravo in 33rd.
Today's results of course do not count towards the Tour Down Under proper, set to start Tuesday morning CET.
Results:
Aitor Hernández's magic run of form seems to have no end: on Saturday, the former roadie clocked up his 18th win of the season in Berriz, Bizkaia.
The race counted as the Championship of Bizkaia, and was held in the late Iñaki Lejarreta's hometown of Berriz to pay homage to the fallen mountain biker. Lejarreta was of course no slouch on the cyclo-cross circuit himself and spent his whole career riding for Orbea, so it was most fitting that current Orbea rider Hernández, born just up the road in Ermua, could lift his arms in jubilation upon crossing the line.
In fact, he could probably have lifter his arms in triumph long before that. On a terribly muddy and technical circuit, no one was able to match Hernández's furious pace, with the recently crowned national champion going on to win by a big 1:25. Kevin Suárez, 2012 senior national champ Isaac's nephew, initially gave it a shot along with the likes of former Orbea road professional Júlen Zubero, Erlantz Uriarte and José Antonio Díez Arriola, but no one was able to shake of the stubborn Hernández and was no match for him on the closing circuits.
Díez Arriola went on to take second, while the ever-improving Jonathan Lastra, despite detrimental crashes, grabbed third.
Results:
Aitor Hernández (Ermua-Orbea), 57:03
José Antonio Díez Arriola (Tus Bicis - Maglia Sport), 1:25
Jonathan Lastra (Hirumet Taldea), 1:33 - sub-23 winner
Erlantz Uriarte (Ibaigane Opel), 2:41
Iñigo Gómez (Bio Racer - Caravanas Erandio), 3:20
Júlez Zubero (Ciclos Zubero), 4:26
Ion Gómez (Bio Racer - Caravanas Erandio), 4:43
Asier Arregi (Bizikleta.com), 5:10
Antonio Suárez (La Paz Club Ciclista), 6:19
Abel García (Patria Hispana), 6:50
Eider Merino was crowned regional champ among the women by besting Lierni Lekuona and Monica Carrascosa. Caja Rural's Alex Aranburu took out the junior men's race, but seeing as he hails from Ezkio-Itsaso in Gipuzkoa, the regional crown went to number two, Eneko Corrales, while Álvaro Carral closed out the podium.
Of note, three-time national champion Jokin Mujika triumphed in the Máster 50 category. Mujika, once a highly-promising road rider who took in spells with illustrious teams like Orbea and Banesto in the 80s, switched to the mud in the latter stages of an underwhelming career, going on to win the Spanish Championships in 1993, 1994 and 1996. Mujika once beat two real greats of the sport, Robert Millar and Charly Mottet, to win the Bicicleta Vasca (later the Euskal Bizikleta) taking in the famed Arrate climb in 1988 - just a few clicks away from today's host, Lejarreta's beloved Berriz.
Watch a video of Euskaltel training on antipodean roads in preparation for the Tour Down Under below, shot by the race organizer. The race kicks off with the People's Choice Classic on Sunday, and the race proper gets underway two days later.
By the way, the man talking is Euskaltel's expert directeur sportif, Álex Díaz.
You'd be hard pressed to say Mikel Nieve is one of the best Grand Tour riders out there. Granted, he's always up there in the top ten and is the very definition of consistency, but he's yet to do better than tenth overall.
He's easily the best Grand Tour first-timer, though: He grabbed the queen-stage and tenth overall in his maiden Vuelta a España three years ago, and went on to replicate that exact same feat in his first ever Giro d'Italia a year later.
This summer, Nieve is set for leadership duties in his first ever Tour de France. So will he be celebrating a stage win and a top GC result at the Grand Boucle?
"Man, winning a stage in the Tour would be better than what I achieved in the Vuelta or the Giro, but we'll see", he told El Pedal de Frodo. "First I have to get there in shape, and then we'll see what I can do. I want to show myself at the top of my game. Where that will take me I don't know - I've never done the Tour and it's hard to predict anything. But, yeah, I would like to be among the frontrunners and fight for a stage win, of course I would like that... But before that, I've got to prepare myself as best I can and be in top shape when the race kicks off".
Leading Euskaltel in France, a team created to ride the Tour mind you, can be a burden for anyone. Nieve is no different, but says the pressure he puts on himself is just as big.
"Yes, (leading the team) comes with pressure", he said. "But it's also pressure I put on myself. I want to give the best of myself at that race, and if I give it all I've got, I can't ask for more.
"I imagine the Tour to be more or less like everyone says it is: that there's much tension, that it's the best race in the world, and that it's the race with the highest level of racing. Everyone who's going to that race prepares for it, and everyone's in shape.
"There's been a lot of crashing in the first week of the race the last few years, so you have to go there with respect, be careful and hope you avoid the spills and get to the mountains in good shape".
Despite taking on a number of high-calibre races last year, the Giro, the Tour de Suisse, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Il Lombardia and the Tour of Beijing to name but a few, the 28-year-old "only" clocked up 55 race days - that's 17 less than fellow team captain Igor Antón and even fewer than Samuel Sánchez, who was of course ruled out through injury for a big part of the year.
He didn't start out until the Clásica de Almeria came around in late February last season, and, though his calendar is yet to be released, he admits his 2013 race appointments differ from those of 2012 - and he's looking forward to it.
"I'm motivated. We've changed my racing schedule around a little bit from what we've done the last couple of years, and this year we'll be changing everything somewhat. And I've done my homework this winter - at least I've tried", he added half-jokingly. "Now we will see the results of it, but I think I've worked well, I've avoided mishaps, and I aspire to perform to high standard.
The Paris-Nice will be one of his biggest goals for the first half of the season, but he's reluctant to set any concrete objectives.
"First off we have to see how I'm feeling, and the race will put me in my place. To start with I'll try to be as far up as I can and see where it takes me", he said.
Euskaltel have of course been through a major overhaul this off-season what with the incorporation of non-Basques and the severing of ties with the Fundación Euskadi. Nieve isn't too worried though, predicting big things to come from some of his young team-mates.
"If Romain Sicard gets back to where he was, he's one of the biggest talents I've ever seen. And Ion Izagirre's Giro performance last year was really impressive", he enthused. "I think they can be the future of this team".
Had it with all the Armstrong news lately? Watch the epic clip below to be reminded of what cycling really is all about:
While there's still room for movement in the transfer market, 35 riders are, as of the turn of the year, set to make up the professional Basque peloton in 2013.
So says Euskadi cycliste, a newly-created webpage whose authors have collected the complete list. Besides the 19 at Euskaltel Euskadi, there's 16 in other World Tour or Professional Continental teams.
Romain Sicard's Euskaltel adventure has so far been a story of unfulfilled potential. After a promising maiden year at the World Tour level in 2010, injuries ruled him out for the better part of a year before he returned to fitness in 2012. While last season was low on high-profile results, the now 25-year-old got to ride a full season and made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España.
He now wants to "take another step ahead", and will hope to do so by taking part in the biggest race there is. Igor González de Galdeano has time and again showed his faith in the Frenchman, and has now decided to include him in the team for the Grand Boucle alongside Igor Antón and Mikel Nieve.
"I'm looking forward to discovering the Tour", he told BiciCiclismo. "I'm already 25 years old and has the experience of doing the Vuelta last year. The Tour is the race we all want to take part in, but before that we have to show we're at the needed level".
To gear up for the French GT, Sicard will tackle a calendar including Paris-Nice, the Vuelta al País Vasco, the Ardennes and the Dauphiné:
27 of January: GP Cycliste la Marseillaise
30 of January - 3 of February: Etoile de Bessèges
6-10 of February: Tour Méditerranéen
3-10 of March: Paris-Nice
23-24 of March: Critérium International
1-6 of April: Vuelta al País Vasco
14 of April: Amstel Gold Race
17 of April: La Flèche Wallonne
21 of April: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
23-28 of April: Tour de Romandie
2-9 of June: Critérium du Dauphiné
29 of June - 21 of July: Tour de France
Sicard is these days taking part in the team's training camp in Villajoyosa on Spain's Costa Blanca, and insists the injuries that dogged him for so long are finally behind him.
"I'm feeling much better, and the best thing is that I can concentrate on training and racing", he said. "It's been two hard years during which I've learned a lot. Now, it'll be like starting over from zero".
Saying Ricardo Mestre is heading into unchartered territory this year would be an understatement: The Portuguese is 29 years old, has never ridden for a team outside his own country (let alone a team ranked higher than Continental-level) and the Volta a Portugal is the biggest race he's ever done. Yet an overall title at the aforementioned race and consecutive GP Torres Vedras - Joaquim Agostinho triumphs suggests the native of Faro has the legs to compete at a higher level.
Mestre will of course get that opportunity in a few weeks, and he's naturally looking forward to it.
"I'm happy to be here, and hopefully it will go well", he told El Pedal de Frodo. "I'll do my best. It's a big change, but it's also a sign I'm still developing. I hope to learn more and perform better this year.
"I like it here, and I've been welcomed with open arms. It's what I expected it to be, and hopefully it will continue like this".
He wasn't too keen to discuss specific goals, but seemed aware he's likely to ride shotgun for the team's captains most of the time.
"If I'm able to be there and help the team win races, I'd be happy", he said. "And, of course, it would be huge to win a race on my own as well.
"Doing the Volta ao Algarve would be nice (as it's my home race), but I aim to get into shape at a later stage. I know part of my schedule, and I'll do Bessèges, Méditerranéen, Algarve, Murcia, Catalunya and more..."
And what headline would he like to see written about him at the end of the year?
New Euskaltel rider Robert Vrecer is set to get his Grand Tour debut this spring at the ripe old age of 32.
The Slovenian joined the team in the off-season from the Continental-level Team Vorarlberg to help secure Igor González de Galdeano's outfit the WorldTour licence it craved, and will get to experience one of the very hardest races there is already in his first season. According to the team's own website, Vrecer is set to line up at the Giro d'Italia in May.
Speaking from the team's training camp in Villajoyosa, the team's General Manager said the team's been divided into three groups for the training rides, with each group focussing on roughly the same races.
"The first group consists of riders who have to get into shape early on, and they are therefore doing more intense riding. (Igor) Antón, (Mikel) Nieve, (Gorka) Verdugo and (Romain) Sicard are some of these riders", he said. "In the second group you've got riders who are in with a real shot of doing the Giro, and who therefore need to go a little bit easier in training. Samuel Sánchez, Egoi Martínz, Jorge Azanza, Miguel Minguez and Robert Vrecer are shoo-ins for the Corsa Rosa. And then, finally, you've got the group of the sprinters, who are doing specific training. (André) Schulze, (Steffen) Radochla, (Alexandre) Serebryakov and (Adrián) Sáez de Arregi are in this group, joined occasionally by (Pablo) Urtasun, Rubén Pérez and (Jure) Kocjan".
Vrecer, who specializes against the clock and took six triumphs in all last year, will thus get a tough introduction to top-level racing - but, having ridden all career on Continental teams, he's likely relishing it.
As for the rest of the training camp, Galdeano hopes to "finalize the racing schedules for the riders", adding that "camps like these are important both to be able to train at intensity in a milder climate than further north, and to become a tight-knit group. Directors, mechanics, masseurs, soigneurs, riders... We're all a big family, and this week represents an ideal opportunity to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and to establish a good team atmosphere for the upcoming season".
The team will stay on the Costa Blanca through this week, returning home on Sunday the 20th. Photo: Euskaltel Euskadi
In an intense, actioned-packed race, Aitor Hernández (Ermua-Orbea) was able to cap off his spectacular season by beating out Egoitz Murgoitio (Hirumet-Taldea) for the Spanish cyclocross crown. Hernández caps off a year that saw him claim 17 victories, the Euskadi championship and the overall Superprestigio title. Rounding out the all-Basque podium was Javier Ruiz de Larrinaga (MMR-Spiuk), who nearly overtook Murgoitio in the end.
The race started off quick with Egoitz Murgoitio and Isaac Suárez (Bio-Races Caravanas) pushing the pace on the first lap. Aitor Hernández and Javier Ruiz de Larrinaga made the junction on the 2nd lap and the group of four were away. Murgoitio pushed the pace again on the next lap, breaking away and forcing Hernández to chase. Hernández was able to make the junction while Larrinaga and Suárez stayed together. Hernández subsequently pushed the pace, dropping Murgoitio on the 4th lap but the two were back together on the 5th lap. While Hernández and Murgoitio dueled up front, Larrinaga was able to drop Suárez on the 6th lap and rode a faster lap then either of the front duo. The hammer blow came for Murgoitio after a counter-attack by Hernández on the 7th lap, which instantly gapped the Hirumet-Taldea rider.
Hernández continued to ride smooth on the muddy course while Murgoitio faltered, trying desperately to keep 2nd place from a hard charging Larrinaga. Murgoitio finally regained some rhythm on the last lap and was able to hold off Larrinaga, who had to settle for 3rd place. While Murgoitio has been one of the more successful Spaniards on the European cyclocross circuit, he has yet to win the Spanish elite title in his career.
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