Mikel Astarloza and his teammates(Image credit: Euskaltel Euskadi)
The team's directors discuss(Image credit: Euskaltel Euskadi)
Mikel Astarloza and his teammates go training in the Basque country.(Image credit: Euskaltel Euskadi)
Euskaltel Euskadi riders prepare for their training session on the Pais Vasco route.(Image credit: Euskaltel Euskadi)
The team's directors discuss the training session ahead on Tuesday.(Image credit: Euskaltel Euskadi)
Spanish-registered ProTour squad Euskaltel Euskadi has completed a training session in the Basque country where next week's 47th Vuelta al País Vasco will take place. During the training ride the team passed over the final 55 kilometres of the second day's stage from Urretxu - Karrantza.
Spanish riders Samuel Sanchez, Mikel Astarloza, Iñigo Landaluze, Aitor Hernandez, Gorka Twig, Jorge Azanza, Rubén Perez and Venezuelan Unai Etxebarria all took part in the training ride ahead of next week's six-day ProTour event.
"A already knew the layout previously," said Sanchez after the ride. "It is very winding, many dangerous curves, slopes…as it rains it can be a stage with many alternatives and very exciting."
The team's general manager Miguel Madariaga and team managers Igor González de Galdeano, Jon Odriozola and Gorka Gerrikagoitia worked together on formulating and supervising the training day in order to have the riders completely prepared for the Basque event.
"Valverde, by the quality that he has, is another safe value," said Sanchez of who he thinks will be the rider to beat. "As for me, I am well, I have trained hard and now I must demonstrate it on the highway. To always win is difficult, we do not forget it, but the equipment plays a great role and we are ambitious. After all, it is our race."
González de Galdeano said he believes Sanchez is in good form and will have a chance of winning at the event and also outlined the importance of the race to the squad.
"It is the most important competition in the first fourth month period [of the season]," he explained. "Therefore, we want to do it well in front of our fans. We have worked to arrive at a good moment and with a square of guarantees, with safe values like Etxebarria, Astarloza, Landaluze or Verdugo and young people like Azanza or Hernandez ."
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Madariaga added: "This year we have prepared with more illusion and more force than ever. We are making a great work that I hope is compensated by a good performance in the round before our partners and our public. For us it would be very important to play a great role and to continue consolidating the new course of this project (team) that was born in 1994 and continues growing ".
