Joan Horrach has extended his contract with current team Katusha for one more year, taking the Mallorcan’s contract with the Russian team into a fourth year. Horrach is a key domestique for 2010 WorldTour champion Joaquim Rodriguez, and will be at his captain’s side once more in the 2012 season.
Horrach has been with Katusha since its inception in 2009, having previously spent five years with the Spanish Caisse d’Epargne team [now Movistar – ed]. While he rarely takes any personal results, he has built his career in the service of others, hence his value to Rodriguez in his WorldTour campaign.
So far this year Horrach’s best result has been his 53rd place in the Giro d’Italia but, again, he was riding for Rodriguez, who finished the race in fifth place. One of the few times in the season that Horrach races for himself is during the Trofeo Mallorca series of races on his home island. He pays particular attention to the Trofeo Deía, in his hometown, where his best result so far has been second place in the 2010 edition.
Horrach’s extension with the Russian team, in support of another campaign of Rodriguez’, illustrates the differing fortunes of the team’s Spanish riders compared to those of most of its Italian ones. As WorldTour champion, Rodriguez has been by far the team’s most successful rider for the last two seasons. His fortunes are a direct contrast to those of the Filippo Pozzato, who has been passed over for all three Grand Tour’s this year, following a lacklustre classics campaign.