Vázquez, Palomares to Grupo Nicolás Mateos-Murcia

By Antonio J. Salmerón

The promising young rider Manuel Vázquez, who made his debut in professional cycling in 2006 with Andalucía-Cajasur, has reached a verbal agreement for the next season with the Grupo Nicolás Mateos-Murcia, which will be in the Pro-Continental category in 2008. Vázquez, born in Granada (Andalucía) in 1981, took his first professional victory in the Vuelta a La Rioja in 2006. This season Vázquez won the overall in the Vuelta al Alentejo in Portugal.

Coming from Fuerteventura-Canarias, Ukrainian Oleg Chuzda, who has was the U23 time trial national champion in 2007, is close to reaching a contractual agreement with the Grupo Nicolás Mateos-Murcia, as well as the 31 year-old veteran Adrián Palomares. Palomares, who won stages of the Regio Tour and Tour of Britain. Palomares will confront his eighth season as professional rider. The Basque rider Mikel Artetxe (Fuerteventura-Canarias) is also in talks with the team.

The Grupo Nicolás Mateos has also picked up local professional riders Jesús Buendia (Barbot), Claudio Casas (Andalucía-Cajasur), Eloy Teruel (G. N. M.), and the U23 riders Javier Chacón (Andalucía), Sergio Domínguez (Soctec), and Rubén Reig, who has raced in 2007 for the Würth team.