Riders from Xacobeo Galicia to receive overdue wages

The riders from the Xacobeo Galicia team will receive an early Christmas present from the Galego Cycling Foundation, which agreed today to pay months of back wages owed to the squad.

The Galego Cycling Foundation issued a press release today stating that it would pay out the full amount owed under the contracts of the riders and staff from the Xacobeo Galicia team through the end of December, when the agreements end.

The payment should fend off action by the UCI to release the bank guarantee which is set aside at the start of the year should a team organization fail to pay its riders.

Riders had petitioned the UCI after going months without being paid.

The Xacobeo Galicia team announced in October that it would not continue after it failed to find a title sponsor for the 2011 season. The team came under investigation by Spanish police after the doping cases of Vuelta a Espana runner-up Ezequiel Mosquera and David Garcia Dapena.

While some of the riders have found places on other teams, the late withdrawal of the squad has left Gustavo Cesar Veloso, Gonzalo Rabuñal, Serafin Martinez, Gustavo Domínguez and Gustavo Rodriguez still in the hunt for teams.