Started in 2010, Caja Rural enters the 2011 season at the Pro Continental level, a step up from its initial year. The team consists of 20 riders, mostly of Spanish origin, with only three riders hailing from outside the Iberian Peninsula.
On the whole, the team is very young, with the average age of rider being 25.6 years old. Only Iñigo Cuesta (41), Julián Sánchez Pimienta (30), and Aitor Galdós (30), are older than 30. The youth of the team points to a bright future for the team, but could also result in growing pains as the team ups the competition level from its virgin season.
To prepare for a tougher season, the team adds 8 new riders to the roster. Caja Rural will compete mostly in Spain and Portugal, with a dream of gaining a wildcard entry into the Vuelta a España.
Below is a profile of the teams three leaders for the 2011 season; Javier Moreno, Aitor Galdós, and Iñigo Cuesta.
Javier Moreno, like all three of the team's leaders, is new to Caja Rural. A 26 year old rider from the southern city of Jaén, Moreno had spent the previous three seasons with the Andulcia - CajaSur team. Moreno is not spectacular in any discipline, but is a solid all-around rider that the team hopes to build its season around. He will be counted on in the many week-long races that dot the Spanish calendar.
If Caja Rural gain entry to the Vuelta a España, Moreno will be the team's leader. In 2008, Moreno finished in 21st, 26'22 behind winner Alberto Contador.
Aitor Galdós will be the team's main sprinter, a position that was blocked by Koldo Fernández de Larrea at his previous team, Euskaltel - Euskadi. A former U19 Spanish Cyclo-Cross champion, what Galdós lacks in top end speed he makes up for in solid climbing ability. A 13th in La Flèche Wallonne (2008) and a 7th in Milan - San Remo (2009), highlight his ability to climb and still have energy to finish strong.
The last leader of the team is the elder statesman, Iñigo Cuesta. A professional rider since 1994, Cuesta still has some gas left in the tank, as evidenced by his 25th in last years Vuelta. In what is very likely his last season, Caja Rural hopes Cuesta can provide the team with some results, while also pass along some of his knowledge to the younger riders on the team.
Interestingly, this will be his first season since 2005 not riding in the service of Carlos Sastre.
Season Goals:
• Finish in the Top 10: Vuelta a Mallorca (2/7)
• Finish as Leading Climber: Vuelta a Andalucía (2/21)
• Finish in the Top 10: Clasica de Almeria (2/28)
• Finish in the Top 10: Gran Premio Llodio (4/24)
• Finish in the Top 10: Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid (7/17)
• Finish in the Top 10: Urkiola Igoera - Subida Urkiola (8/3)
Looking really nice. You should be able to get a lot of sprint victories this season and good luck with getting Javier Moreno into the top 20 in the Vuelta
Great team choice, the return of one of the sponsors from the golden age of spanish cycling. Obviously Javier Moreno is no Lejarreta, but well, the goals are pretty realistic (Mallorca the hardest, perhaps?) and with those stats Galdos can be a monster on the spanish continental classics, so should do well. Good luck!
Great team choice. Hope this story will be as good as you old Saur story, which was the best story here in my opinion. Really liked your way of writing.
Galdos and Moreno will do great I think. Not too sure about Cuesta. Maybe you should edit his decreasing age to 42/43, otherwise he won`t be able to climb anything in March
The first race of the season, sees Caja Rural hop across the Atlantic Ocean to the country of Argentina. The Tour de San Luis is in its fifth year of existence, and will see many European teams compete.
A seven-stage race, the Tour de San Luis does not feature any huge mountains stages, but a time trial and several tough climbs will certainly test the riders early season fitness.
Stage 1: San Luis - Justo Daract: 166.0km
Stage 2: La Punta - El Trapiche: 168.5km
Stage 3: Buena Esperanza - Villa Mercedes: 163.0km
Stage 4: San Luis: 18.5km (ITT)
Stage 5: Capital del Marmol Onix - Merlo: 160.8km
Stage 6: La Huertita - La Carolina: 192.0km
Stage 7: San Luis - El Trapiche: 181.9km
Caja Rural:
121.
José Herrada
122.
Garikoitz Bravo
123.
David De la Cruz
124.
Victor De la Parte
125.
Fabricio Ferrari
126.
Ruben Martínez
127.
Diego Milán
128.
Julián Sánchez Pimienta
The Caja Rural team does not feature any of its main leaders, but should still be strong enough to make an impact on the race. Without the benefit of a pre-season training camp, the team's fitness is only mediocre.
Julián Sánchez Pimienta will be Caja Rural's main man in the GC competition. The team is not expecting Sánchez Pimienta to compete for the win, but will be hoping for a decent showing.
Diego Milán will be the team's sprinter. Milán is able to negotiate some smaller climbs, which should work in his favor given the rugged terrain of Argentina.
The other rider of note is José Herrada. Herrada will likely be given the freedom to stretch his legs in search of a stage victory.
Without having intimate knowledge of rider fitness so early in the season, the following have been made favorites for the race.
11.
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese - Vini
One of the most underrated riders in the the peloton, the current Italian National Champion is an elite puncheur. The steep climbs should suit his style perfectly, and he should be able to create some gaps. The individual time trial could cause Visconti some issues, but if he is in decent shape, he could be to limit his loses well enough to compete for overall victory.
1.
Gustav Larsson
Saxo Bank SunGard
Larsson is not an elite climber, but he should be good enough to hang with most of the riders in the starting list. Where he will make an impact is in the time trial. While only 18km long, Larsson should be able to make up some time on his rivals. If Larsson climbs well, he could surprise here.
51.
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
A highly-touted French rider, Coppel is a complete rider who is solid enough in all disciplines to take the victory in the Tour de San Luis. Saur - Sojasun is not as strong a team as some of the others in the race, but as they make a push for entry into the Tour de France, the team will want to get noticed in races such as this.
32.
Pierrick Fédrigo
FDJ
The Nose of Marmande. Fédrigo will make his debut for his new team, FDJ. He will co-lead with Sandy Casar, but is stronger on the hills than his teammate. Fédrigo will be looking to impress his new team.
21.
Tiago Machado
Team RadioShack
Tiago Machado represents the future of Team RadioShack. With Lance Armstrong retiring, and veterans like Levi Leipheimer, Andreas Klöden, and Chris Horner aging, Machado will be counted on to take more steps forward. The Portuguese all-arounder has the strength to win.
68.
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
Szmyd is often seen at the head of the peloton, grinding away in the service of Ivan Basso or Vincenzo Nibali. Additionally, he usually fares better on long, steady climbs. Nevertheless, the Polish rider, who doesn't get many opportunities to ride for himself will look to capitalize on the his chances.
Tour de San Luis: Stage 1: San Luis - Justo Daract: 166.0km
The first stage of the Tour de San Luis sees the peloton move from San Luis to Justo Daract, the fourth largest city in the province. The stage features a small rise until 47km, when the route slowly descends, through Fraga and Villa Mercedes, before finishing in Justo Daract. A mass sprint finish is expected.
Caja Rural wanted to get a rider into the breakaway, and Garikoitz Bravo was selected to try to make the move. The young Spaniard tried several times, but was always brought back by a nervous peloton. Together, Liquigas and Colnago controlled the early speed of the field.
Eventually, a group of riders was allowed to break clear. 9 riders made the move: Rubens Bertogliati (Team Type 1), Roberto De Patre (Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli), Sébastien Delfosse (Landbouwkrediet), Danilo Wyss (BMC Racing Team), Matej Gnezda (Adria Mobil), Marc Reynès (PSK Whirlpool - Author), Oleksandr Sheydyk (ISD - Lampre Continental), Julien Simon (Saur - Sojasun), and Michael Mørkøv (Saxo Bank SunGard).
The breakaway works together to build up a lead.
At the KOM point 47km into the day, the breakaway's lead was up to 3'14.
Later, at the 1st sprint point in Fraga, the lead over the peloton was up to 6'10. The advantage did not grow from this point on, as Liquigas, FDJ, and Skil - Shimano took to the front to set up the chase.
Tomasz Nose (Adria Mobil) suffered a puncture at the same time as the main field's speed increased. He never reconnected with the peloton again.
Nose's inoppurtune puncture would see him finish the day in last, 12'04 behind the winner.
Just before the peloton reached the second sprint point, Team RadioShack suffered a setback, when Nelson Oliveira had to stop and withdraw with a broken wrist. The Portuguese rider is out until early March.
Oliveira withdraws from the race with injury.
The lead of breakaway had been cut to 3'12 by the second sprint point.
The rest of the run-in was without incident. Despite a late attack from Sheydyk, the breakaway was arrested just under the 10km to go banner.
Caja Rural wanted to make sure Diego Milán was well positioned for the impending sprint. Fabricio Ferrari was able to bring Milán up to rhe front successfully.
Behind them, a small crash occurred when Philip Deignan (Team RadioShack) bumped the wheel ahead of him. His teammate, Ben Hermans, as well as three Itera - Katusha riders were unable to avoid the spill. All five riders would lose 3'09 on the day.
The bad day for Team RadioShack continues as Deignan (on the ground) and Hermans crash.
As Milán searched for a wheel, he spied Yauheni Hutarovich (FDJ), coming up fast on the left. With no lead-out man, Milán attached himself behind the Belarusian's wheel.
Milán is on Hutarovich's wheel as the rider's prepare for the final sprint.
They were never in great position, and never got too close to the front. Hutarovich finished in 15th, while Milán ended up in 20th.
Under the flamme rouge, Bobbie Traksel (Landbouwkrediet) was in pole position. Closely behind him were a bunch of riders, however, none were that organized.
Traksel is in the lead as the peloton goes around the final bend.
Traksel maintained a solid speed in the final straight, as both Hilton Clarke (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) and Lucas Sebastián Haedo (Saxo Bank SunGard) were closing fast. However neither had enough strength required to fully overtake the Dutch sprinter.
Traksel crossed the line first, and will dawn the leader's jersey for the following stage.
Traksel takes the win, just ahead of Clarke and a large group of riders.
Not the best start into the season, but I'm sure, you will get some nice results in Argentinia! Bad day for the Shack and nice 2nd for Hilton Clarke Good luck for the upcoming stages.
@ all: Not the greatest start, but I won't get discouraged
Tour de San Luis: Stage 2: La Punta - El Trapiche: 168.5km
The second stage of the Tour de San Luis sees the peloton move into the hills. Namely, the Mirador del Potrero, a 4.2km climb @ 7.7% situated at the end of the stage. Before the peloton tackles the climb, they will navigate a relatively flat course starting in La Punta. No great separation is expected, but the contenders will want to signal their intentions.
Caja Rural did not think a breakaway would succeed today. However, after missing out of the move yesterday, the team wanted to be represented. This time, David De la Cruz was able to slip into the right group. He was joined by four other riders; Ben Hermans (Team RadioShack), Wim De Vocht (Veranda's Willems - Accent), Damien Gaudin (Team Europcar), and Ales Broz (PSK Whirlpool - Author). Hermans, who lost time in Stage 1 due to a crash, was a rider to keep an eye on.
The breakaway as its makes rides away from La Punta.
The breakaway passed through the first sprint points with a lead of 4'26 over the peloton. This increased as they went through the first mountain sprint, a little before the halfway mark. Their advantage had grown to 6'53.
Not wanting to leave the glory to the break, the peloton began chasing under the leadership of FDJ and Landbouwkrediet.
The last sprint point on the day was aroudn 60km from the finish. With the breakaway still nearly 5 minutes ahead, Mauro Santambrogio (BMC Racing Team) made a half-hearted attempt to leave the peloton on a ride for glory. The strange move never had a chance, and the Italian was back with the main field within several kilometers.
Santambrogio's fruitless attack.
The breakaway, despite being small, did a nice job clinging to their lead. They arrived at the Mirador del Potrero still ahead of the peloton.
However, their lead was slight.
De la Cruz leads leads the breakaway up the mountain with the peloton just behind the bend.
A valiant try, the break did not have the strength to hold off the surging peloton. They were caught 3.5km from the line.
The capture of the breakaway was only the beginning of the action, with Julián Sánchez Pimienta shooting out of the peloton only a tenth of a kilometer later.
Sánchez Pimienta starts the attacking.
Initially, Sánchez Pimienta caught the contenders by surprise as he opened a small gap. The fastest to react were Bert De Waele (Landbouwkrediet) and Mauro Finetto (Liquigas - Cannondale).
With 2km left, those three made up the lead group. Trying desperately to make it up to the leaders were Francesco Failli (Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli), Eros Capecchi (Liquigas - Cannondale), Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli), and Sylwester Szmyd (Liqugias - Cannondale). Pierrick Fédrigo (FDJ) was still back with the peloton.
The situation described above.
With 1.5km left, Sánchez Pimienta was tiring quickly. He had mistimed his attack a bit, and was now just trying to hang on. De Waele passed him and took pole position going under the flamme rouge.
Just behind Sánchez Pimienta, Capecchi had clawed his way onto Finetto's wheel. It seemed as if the stage would be settled between Sánchez Pimienta, De Waele, and the two Liquigas riders.
The final kilometer looms.
As the gradient softened, De Waele and Finetto moved clear of the rest. Finetto was the superior sprinter, but had took much ground to make up. The Belgian took the victory after a great ride.
Sánchez Pimienta's legs were burning as he heard the crowd behind him going crazy. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Fédrigo charging up the slopes and closing quickly. With Capecchi having already faded a bit, Sánchez Pimienta grit his teeth and crossed the line just ahead of the Frenchman, a third place finish.
De Waele assumed the overall lead, but most of the talk was about Fédrigo's fast finish. An ominous sign for all.
De Waele assumes the lead from teammate Bobbie Traksel.