Alpina - Avianca is a new team in the Continental division. We are from the high Andean mountains of Colombia, and proud of it too. Our aim is both to nurture and develop the extraordinary talent that this country houses, and to raise awareness of this talent around the globe. Colombia has been a very successful cycling nation over the years, yet often many do not speak of it alongside countries like France, Italy and Spain as one of the best cycling nations in the world, but we are here to try and show that to you.

Having been granted a fair sum of money by our two main sponsors, Alpina Productos Alimenticios, a hugely successful dairy company, and Avianca, the national airline of Colombia, we aim to sustain this initiative over many years, helping to elevate not just Colombians, but also riders from around South America, to new heights.

Our focus is not neccesarily primarily on trying to win everything, more to try and develop the team, riders and the whole project. However, having said this, promotion to the Pro Continental Division remains at the forefront of the minds of the management team.

Alpina Productos Alimenticios (or just Alpina for short) may seem like a rather strange main sponsor, but they have poured their heart and soul into this project. Alpina is primarily a dairy company that operates not just in Colombia, but also in neighbouring Venezuela and Ecuador. They were originally founded in 1945 in the Sopó valley, an area which bears a remarkable resemblance to parts of Switzerland, hence the name.

Avianca is the flag-carrier airline of Colombia; and thus one of the major airlines of South America. A significant proportion of the funds for the team have come from here, and Avianca ensures that the riders will be able to fly to their races around the globe in style.

Clasico San Cristobal
-

New Zealand Cycle Tour

Stage 3

2nd place

Juan Pablo Forero

Vuelta a Táchira
-

Tour of South China Sea
-

Vuelta a Mallorca

Stage 4

4th place

Edison Bravo

Q: You are a new team in the Continental division of professional cycling, one of around twenty such teams. What makes Alpina - Avianca stand out from the rest?

A: This team is very much a long-term project. We are committed to raising the profile of South American, and especially Colombian cycling around the world, and this will take time, it won't just happen by signing a bunch of random climbers during the transfer window. We are thinking carefully about who we pursue, and are looking several seasons ahead when we make the decision to try and sign riders.

Q: You mentioned the upcoming transfer period, a hectic time for all involved. Amidst the chaos, are there any riders you are looking to specifically target?

A: At the moment, we're keeping things pretty quiet around here, although we have indicated our interest in one or two riders just to make sure other managers know we're here, but as such we are not specifically targeting anyone (publicly that is). Instead we are looking at going into the transfer period with a nationalistic focus (we believe our jersey reflects this well); and have recently compiled a top-secret shortlist of around 40 names whom we would very much like to have on board.

Q: Are we not allowed to know any of those names on that list?

A: Nope! But I can reveal to you two interesting facts that reflect our team's attitude and mantra - more than 20 of the people are Colombian; and every single one comes from a Spanish-speaking country!

Q: Looking ahead past the transfer season now, you have revealed the C2HC races that your team will be riding in. Which races are you looking towards as being key for the team at this early stage? And which races outside of the C2HC band are you looking at as also being important?

A: Well obviously, we are looking to the Ruta America del Sur and the Rutas de America (if we can secure a decent sprinter, that is) as being the C2HC South American races. We have also listed the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid as one of our goals; this being one of the few 'mountain classics' at this level, and in a Spain too, an area of secondary, but nevertheless considerable, importance for the team and sponsors; since the country of Colombia produces such fine climbing talents we will most likely be focussing on the mountainous races. As for C1 and C2 races, we have not really thought of much outside the obvious races like Vuelta a Tachira and Tour de San Luis, and of course our home race Clasico RCN.

Q: And finally, if you manage to get together a squad that loosely resembles your shortlist (obviously not quite as large), how would you assess your prospects for the coming season?

A: I believe that if the transfer period goes somewhat according to plan, a Top 10 in the Continental Tour standings would be well within reach.

There is as of yet nothing to update you about in the transfer section. Due to the highly competitive nature of the market (read: about five or six teams suddenly deciding that they want every single rider on my shortlist) we have been unable to make much progress in the transfer market, especially in securing any free agents.

After five long and stressful days, we have finally managed to secure a rider. And it's not just some cheap inconsequential domestique, it's Juan Pablo Forero. One of the strongest South American sprinters around, we are extremely happy to welcome him on board from Becherovka-Kiwibank. Although the transfer fee was rather high, his wage is just €55,000, which eases potential pressure on the salary cap somewhat.

It is with a warm welcome that we see our first free agent join the team, the Colombian talent Ever Rivera, for 50,000. He will hopefully form part of a core of young riders on which the team can build for further seasons.

The other signing we have made is the Bolivian climber Gilber Zurita, coming from the VolksWagen-Mapei squad. He, too was expensive (although not nearly as expensive as Forero) but will hopefully be worth it, ensuring we remain competitive over the mountainous races in the season, and also similarly to Forero, joins on a pretty low wage - 60,000.

Our first signing today is puncher Diego Antonio Ochoa. At just 21 years of age, he has plenty of time to develop, and within two or three years will be a very competent rider indeed. He is signed for the minimum wage of 50,000.

Our second signing of the day, probably the most exciting out of the three riders we have signed today is the already impressive and talented Heiner Rodrigo Parra Bustamente. Heiner has the potential to grow into a leading climber, and having him onboard with the team has made the management very excited. After a couple of teams showed interest, he is signed for 60,000.

Finally our third rider is Juan Ernesto Chamorro. Due to the competitive nature of the South American market in general, Chamorro was highly sought after, and his ridiculously high wage of 115,000 comes as a result of diplomacy with others breaking down somewhat. Nevertheless, he still has room to improve upon his ability and will most likely be afforded quite a free role in the team.