GP Miguel Indurain saved by private backer

The GP Miguel Indurain will take place in 2014 after a private sponsor was found to cover its core budget. It had been announced last week that the Spanish race would be postponed this year, but instead it is set to go ahead as planned on April 5.

David Echavarri, president of CC Estella which organises the GP Miguel Indurain, explained that a private company – and not the regional government of Navarra, as originally hoped – had stepped up to ensure the race will take place.

“We’ve covered the core budget. If we can raise more money, that would be welcome so as to have more teams and better infrastructure,” Echavarri told Biciciclismo. Further details will be announced at a press conference next week.

Biciciclismo reports that the city of Estella will contribute €10,000 to the race’s budget – rather than the €25,000 it had initially pledged, while a further contribution is still possible from the regional government of Navarra. “Something should come,” said Echavarri.

Echavarri added that he hopes that the organisation of the race will prove more straightforward in 2015, pointing out that since 2011, the organisation has had to wait “until the last moment” every year to confirm its budget.

The GP Miguel Indurain began in 1951 was renamed in honour of the five-time Tour de France winner in 1999. It has been held continuously since 1987, with Indurain, Pedro Deldago, Alex Zülle, Joaquim Rodriguez and Samuel Sanchez among those to have won in Estella over the years. Simon Spilak (Katusha) won last year’s race.