NetApp-Endura racing alongside Cofidis and Caja Rural
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Team NetApp riders are introduced prior to the start.(Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
Daniel Navarrow makes an official appearance in his new Cofidis kit(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Caja Rural team is presented to the crowd.(Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
The Vuelta a España, the last Grand Tour to announce its wildcard selection for 2013, has named Cofidis, Caja Rural and NetApp-Endura as taking part alongside the 19 WorldTour teams that are automatically selected. As was the case of the Tour de France, the Vuelta opted to reduce the number of their wildcards from the usual four to three after Katusha’s late admission to the WorldTour.
Cofidis is perhaps the least surprising selection of the three. They have long had strong connections with the Vuelta, both thanks to multiple Vuelta King of the Mountains winner and long-time Cofidis rider David Moncoutie and as a sponsor of the race itself. They have also already been selected as a wildcard for this year’s Tour de France.
Caja Rural, already selected for the Vuelta last year, are Spain’s only ProContinental squad and were the ‘home side’ when the race kicked off in the company’s home town of Pamplona last year. They then took an impressive stage win with Seville-born climber Antonio Piedra at the Lagos de Covadonga, one of the race’s best-known ascents and home to some of the last wolves in Europe.
NetApp-Endura, one of the sport’s youngest teams, are newcomers to the Vuelta. Although they failed to make it into the Tour de France this summer despite being on the short-list of possible teams, they did race in the Giro d’Italia last year, and will be keen to raise the bar in cycling’s third Grand Tour.
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Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The Independent, The Guardian, ProCycling, The Express and Reuters.
