Retaining its top riders Samuel Sánchez and Igor Antón, details of plans for the Euskaltel Euskadi team post-2012 have emerged at a press conference held today in the Zamudio Technology Park. The Basque squad has set the goal of continuing to be part of the UCI WorldTour, and will have a budget of nine million euro for next season.
Previously facing an uncertain future, the team now has a guaranteed backing for the next three years. According to Biciciclismo, Pro Cycling Team Basque will take over from the Euskadi Foundation in running the team, with Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano acting as its Director General plus as the general manager of the team itself.
Apart from Olympic champion Sánchez and Antón, many of the current riders will continue to be part of the setup, including Mikel Landa, Gorka and Ion Izagirre, Mikel Nieve, Pello Bilbao and Mikel Astarloza. The 28 man squad will also include seven or eight from outside the team, with Carlos Barredo and Dani Navarro amongst those being linked to the setup.
Its previous focus on having Basque riders was pinpointed as something which could potentially limit the strength of the team, and so greater flexibility was welcomed in taking others from outside the region.
The squad had a relatively quiet Tour de France, due mainly to Sánchez crashing out of the race. He fell on the eighth stage and fractured the third metacarpal in his left hand. This has forced him to withdraw from the team for the Olympic Games.
He is likely to target the Vuelta a España instead, with the Grand Tour being a major target for the team.