Welcome to the Headquarters of Euskaltel - Elior, a team full of managerial experience having been a part of Cycling's Elite for the last 5 years.
We approach our 6th year as a team with a renewed approach and a renewed sense of optimism, mixed with quite a lot of pressure! Following a rather horrible campaign last year in the Pro Continental Tour, we now find ourselves back where we started all those years ago in the Continental Tour.
We have luckily managed to hold onto both of our main sponsors. Euskaltel have been with us since the beginning, Co-Sponsoring alongside Bavaria in 2014, Air-France in 2015, going it alone with full sponsorship in 2016 and 2017 prior to being joined by Elior last year. Elior stay with us for at least one more year and expect a lot from us.
In order to make the most of what we have at our disposal, this year it is very important that we have a lot of success and bounce back into the PCT! This is especially vital for the development of our younger riders who will be the core of our team for years to come.
It is for the reason above that both ourselves and our fans are in for an interesting season, in the transfer window and during the racing season. We believe that our mix of youth and experience, as well as the opportunity in the CT to allow some of our younger riders the opportunity to compete for themselves, will prove to be a successful combination and one which we are very much looking forward to seeing!
As always, we thank you for your support and we shall ensure that we keep you all updated on everything that is going on in and around the team this season.
Get behind us and we'll rise to the top!
Kind Regards, Luis Leon Sanchez, GM at Euskaltel - Elior
Edited by Luis Leon Sanchez on 14-02-2020 13:32
A shame to see Euskaltel in CT, but I’m sure you’ll bounce straight back up. I’m interested to see who’ll you’ll target during transfers to help make that happen too! Best of luck.
Welcome to the Euskaltel - Elior HQ for our Jersey Reveal for the 2019 season! For those of you who may have been worried about a dramatic change to our famous orange, you can relax because that isn't going to happen anytime soon. However, we have made a few small changes. This season we have gone with hillis91 as our designer and creator and we believe he has done a fantastic job.
He has also created a wonderful NC Jersey which we will share with you at a later date.
We hope you all enjoy this marvelous creation and we know that it will, as always, stand out in the professional peloton.
Reports from Spain speak of unrest, worry and concern at the Team's Headquarters in Bilbao. All 24 riders who were on contract with the Euskaltel - Elior Team last season were seen entering the team's training facility at various times over the last couple of days. Riders were then seen walking out, some alone and some alongside others.
The emotions on the faces of the riders have left fans wondering who has been released and who is still around. Life-long fans and followers of cycling in the Basque region have voiced their concerns about the "dire" future of Spanish cycling and many have questioned the team's goal of bringing the Orange back to the top.
Speaking with some of these fans, we gathered some mixed responses:
"Personally, my biggest concern is that we may not see some of the best performers for the team in the jersey next season. Relegation does lead to old riders leaving and some new riders coming in but I just hope the team management haven't lost their focus on Spain."
"I've followed cycling in this beautiful region for many years and never have we been so concerned about the future of our local team. The promise was to bring the region back into the spotlight but this doesn't seem to be what they are doing."
"It's been a tough time for us here in Spain. We have seen a Pro Tour team and a Pro Continental team relegated down a division for next season. It isn't a good look for us!"
"Is the best path for young Spanish riders to leave the country and find a foreign team to ride for? It would seem to me like that's the best idea right now."
"I understand the team has focused on trying to develop the next generation but they won't be able to do this unless they're getting riders experience at the top level! We need to see an improvement but hopefully a bit of a refresh will get the team up and running again."
We asked the team for their thoughts given the comments being voiced in the media and this was the response we were given: "The concern from around the nation is understandable and we'd be disappointed if our fans weren't a bit worried. But this season we will be riding at a level where our riders, especially the youth, will excel, learn and mature both as people and as cycling professionals. Obviously relegation isn't good for any team but we are dealing with it. I see it has been mentioned elsewhere, but relegation does leave us with less budget which ultimately means riders will be leaving. We cannot make any official announcements yet but we are well into our preparations for the new season and we hope you will continue to share in this journey with us."
We are only going to announce those riders who have been big point scorers historically as these are the riders the fans tend to pay the most attention to anyway. Realistically we were going to need to release quite a few riders due to the budget constraints that accompany our relegation to the CT but we will leave it up to our fans to decide if we've made the right decision.
Nacer Bouhanni
The French sprinter was one of the first non-climbers to have joined the team following our surprise promotion to the PCT after only one season in the CT. Since then he’s been a bit all over the place but his importance to us has been second to none.
His first season with us was back in 2015. The season itself was one where we finished 5th bottom of the PCT standings and we were lucky to stay in the PCT due to disbanding teams. Bouhanni played a role in keeping us up by acquiring 233 points with his best results including a stage win in the Vuelta al Tachira and 10th in the Dutch Food Valley Classic, a race he would become fond of in further seasons. We were also awarded a wildcard to the Tour de France in which he managed 4th in Stage 2 and 10th in Stage 3.
The 2016 season was one where we tasted much more success as a team and Bouhanni himself had a great season with a mighty 421 points. His highlight was winning the Nahkon Ratchasima Trophy, pictured below. His other noteworthy results included a stage win in the Tour of Beijing as well as a commendable 3rd in the Dutch Food Valley Classic.
2017 was another season of success for the Frenchman as he managed a haul of 312 points which helped us to easy safety in the PCT once again. He managed 2 wins with the first being stage 3 of the Tour of Vancouver and another in the opening stage of the Barbados Cycling Festival where he also managed to finish 4th in the GC. He continued his love affair with the Dutch Food Valley Classic where he finished 3rd for the second consecutive season.
The season that has just gone has been the most difficult for the 28 year old. The highlight was a stage win in the opening stage of the Tour of Eritrea, also pictured below, where he also won the points jersey thanks to 2nd and 3rd in stages 2 and 5. He also achieved two 8th places in the Nakhon Ratchasima Trophy and Berlin ProRace.
Letting go of our prized sprinter wasn't easy and it won't please our French sponsors but the PRO and TT of Moser was the deciding factor in the end.
Dominique Cornu
The Top Belgian Time Trialist joined us before the start of the 2016 season in an attempt to strengthen our PCT survival bid. His 2016 wasn’t anything special though as he underperformed his way to 138 points thanks to stage wins in the Tour de Romandie and the Corsica International. His 2017 was much more impressive as he scored a vital 300 points thanks predominantly to stage wins in the Tour de Romandie and the Olympia’s Tour, 4th in the Post Danmark Rundt as well as a wonderful win in the Isle of Man ITT, pictured celebrating below.
His 2018 was fairly solid although his slight decline has seen him struggle to no stage wins. He did however manage 4th in the GC of the Tour of Southland as well as 4th in the Celtic Chrono along with 11 stage top 10’s throughout the season.
It was his decline along with his wage demands that meant we couldn't keep hold of the Belgian TT Champion. We are sure he will manage to find a good home next season though.
Damiano Caruso
The Italian hills specialist joined us in 2016 to lead our squad in that terrain. He managed a single win in this season with stage 3 of the Tour Down Under. He also managed 4th in the Clasica San Sebastian, 8th in the Gisborne GP and 9th in the Giro dell’Emilia. His 326 points were crucial to our survival.
His 2017 was somewhat less successful with 253 points which still contributed to our survival in the division. He managed his sole stage win on stage 2 in the Tour of South Africa and once again, achieved three Top 10 Classics results with 4th in the Ringerike GP, 7th in the Japan Cup and 9th in the Nelspruit Classic.
A rider who we probably could have held onto in fairness! His poor season in 2018 relative to those before it was one of the deciding factors as well as his poor ability to TT.
Jurgen Van den Broeck
The old experienced Belgian climber joined us last season as our leader in Stage Races. His consistent Top 10s throughout the season ensured he did his job on his way to a season total of 309 points. The highlight of his season being 5th in the Tour de Romandie. His heavy decline prior to this season resulted in a change of role down to a Super Domestique but he still managed a KOM win in the Corsica International.
Magno Nazaret
Brought in to replace Jurgen as our leader in the Mountains this season, it has been quite the challenge for the Brazilian this season. His standout results include a 3rd in the Kenya Mountain Classic, 6th in the Tour de Romandie 8th in the Vuelta a Colombia, 4 Top 10s in KOM and Points classifications along with 8 stage Top 10s.
We ultimately decided that, especially alongside his decline, it wouldn't be the best idea for us to hold onto Nazaret going down to the CT.
A lot of riders with history in your team dropped, but understandable, given their age and the cap reduction in CT. Though your age average is ridiculously low, with several great talents, though if you feel like you don't want some of the Spanish ones, i'm welcome them in my team
These are the riders who remain in our squad following the renewals. 15 made the cut with a total wage budget of $995,000 which we think is a job well done. When comparing the wages of these riders to last season, we have saved a total of $275,000.
As you can see above we have 2 riders with Yes* who may be available. The reason we say "may" is because we will need fairly specific offers for both of them. Le Gac will be available if he is part of a swap deal for a rider with a lower wage, who would ideally be Spanish or French, OR we will take a decent cash offer. Fonseca will be available if we can get a similar wage rider in return who is not too much worse but is younger.
In terms of the 4 with Loan next to their names, they will need to be loaned out to the PCT or PT to continue their development due to RD restrictions in the CT. All 4 can be very useful riders, especially Cosnefroy and Thomas who are already capable TT riders. Hoffstetter is a developing sprinter while Vincent will provide support in the hills. All 4 will require you to pay their entire wage except one who I will pay 25k of the wage due to the Loan Cap restrictions.
Don't even bother making an offer for any rider with No next to them as I most likely won't take the time to respond. These riders will be with us for the racing season, without a doubt.
We look forward to discussions with fellow managers as we have already seen some riders who we would like to bring in. There is hope that riders we bring in will be French or Spanish so if you have any good deals to offer then let me know, when the time comes.
Edited by Luis Leon Sanchez on 19-09-2019 11:59
I cannot promise that we will have the cap space or flexibility, but if things work out well, I am not averse to the idea of compensating you for taking Ganna through a return loan to PT of one of your Frenchmen.
With his fighting spirit, Benoit Cosnefroy would fit to my team perfectly in upcoming season. Together with U23 RR champion Artem Nych they could become lethal duo in Iberia colours!
I didn't at all expect Borisavljevic to be available, but he is a rider we can't help to admire. Hopefully he tears up the CT division in that stunning Serbian NC jersey
cio93: Always a possibility! Was awesome having Ganna last year and he'll be even more effective at CT level.
beagle: I hope he'll be very aggressive this season and next when he's going to have to go to the PT again!
jph27: Plentiful in French talents but they'll be snapped up quickly!
SotD: Unfortunately for yourself there's just no way we are parting with the riders we invested so heavily in to the point where it probably made us relegate.
redordead: Yeah there's no way he's leaving us! I think he'll do well in the CT but it won't be easy for him.
Stage Race Leader Announcement for the 2019 Season
We would like to take this opportunity to announce who our leaders will be in the Mountains and Stage Races this upcoming season. Both riders are Top CT quality and we look forward to seeing how they both fare this season.
Vincenzo Nibali
Age: 35 | Wage: 90,000
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRO
70
78
73
72
72
71
67
50
53
53
75
76
73
He may be hitting the end of his illustrious career at the age of 35, but he is not done just yet! Having been released due to decline by his former team, we managed to snatch Nibali up from the Free Agency for a wage of 90,000 which we consider to be somewhat of a bargain given his all-round ability. We look forward to seeing him alongside Borisavljevic and we’re sure he’ll be able to share his wealth of knowledge and years of experience with the younger members of our team. It’s also no secret that our own Nicola Conci is very excited to learn from the Italian legend.
Milos Borisavljevic
Age: 25 | Wage: 95,000
FLA
MO
HIL
TT
STA
RES
REC
COB
SPR
ACC
FTR
DH
PRO
68
77
73
74
74
74
75
54
59
65
64
68
74
Serbian Stage Racer, Milos Borisavljevic, was a no brainer when it came to renewals following our relegation from the PCT. The 25yr old is on a wage of $95,000 which is very reasonable, especially when compared to the highly inflated wages for similar riders in the Free Agency. In Milos, we have a strong climber who is decent on the hills and strong in TTs. He may not be the most aggressive rider but he’ll get into his rhythm and show everyone what he’s capable of. His age also means he’ll still be riding for the Youth classification and he should be easy to spot in his special National Champions jersey.
Tour de Slovenie
Ras Tailteann
Gisborne GP
Hong Kong Challenge
Circulo de Juarez
Geraardsbergen-Bosberg
Tour of Eritrea
Coppa Placci
Tour of Ukraine
Betonexpressz GP
Tour of Cyprus
Windhoek ITT
Tour du Faso
La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
Tour of Vancouver
Tour of South Africa
Hanko Classic
Bayern Rundfahrt
Tour of Bulgaria
Vilnius GP
Nantahala Classic
Benelux Challenge
Rio Vista Chinesa
Transfaragan GP
GP Yekaterinburg
Course de Solidarnosc
Zuri Metzgete
