Spanish Professional Continental squad Xacobeo Galicia provided arguably the biggest surprise of this year's Vuelta a España by taking out the teams classification ahead of the best of the ProTour.
Álvaro Pino's outfit boasted fifth-placed rider Ezequiel Mosquera and Serafin Martinez, who won the Solidario sprint classification, but the sum of its efforts equalled more than a top five overall or an individual classification. The directeur sportif admitted that "from day one [we aimed for] the team standings," according to Europa Press.
"We knew that it was [going to be] difficult and eventually we made it. It is one of the podiums that always made me dream so much as a rider or as a directeur... it reflects the work of everyone," he added.
As is the case for many smaller squads, funding is a constant issue that hangs over the heads of team management and riders. The performance of the Xacobeo Galicia outfit at this year's Vuelta should go a long way in securing its future, something Pino says is not completely certain but at least stable for the time being.
"So far, as some newspaper say, I have had no communication [about sponsorship]; we have a contract until the end of 2010," he explained. "Those who decide are the bosses, but I hope there are no problems and [we can] formalise the [team's] continuity for more than two years."