Last original Euskaltel-Euskadi rider retires

By Greg Johnson

Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Roberto Laiseka announced his retirement from the sport yesterday at a press conference in Bizkaia, Bilbao, reports EiTB24. The Basque rider explained that his failure to recover from a long-standing knee injury, sustained at last year's Giro d'Italia, is one of the reasons behind his decision.

At 37-yead-old, Laiseka has spent his entire professional career, which spans 12 years, at Euskaltel-Euskadi. Laiseka's career achievements include stage victories in the Vuelta a Espana in 1999 and 2000 as well as the 2001 Tour de France. In more recent years Laiseka claimed the Mountain's Jersey at the 2005 Tour de Suisse.

Laiseka was the sole remaining Euskaltel-Euskadi rider of those that formed the basis of the outfit when it was founded in 1994.