Euskaltel–Euskadi (1994–2013)

Euskaltel-Euskadi
Team information
UCI code	EUS
Registered	Spain
Founded	1994
Disbanded	2013
Discipline(s)	Road
Status	UCI ProTeam
Bicycles	Orbea
Website	Team home page
Key personnel
Team manager(s)	2009: Josu Larrazabal; 2014: Miguel Madariaga
Team name history
1994; 1995–1997; 1998–2013	Euskadi-Petronor; Equipo Euskadi; Euskaltel-Euskadi
	Euskaltel–Euskadi (1994–2013) jerseyJersey
	Euskaltel–Euskadi (1994–2013) jerseyJersey

Euskaltel–Euskadi (UCI team code: EUS) was a professional road bicycle racing team from Spain, Europe. The team was commercially sponsored, but was also partly funded by the Basque Government until the end of 2013, with riders either from the Basque Country, Navarre, La Rioja, and the French Basque Country, or who had grown up in the cycling culture of those regions:^[1]^[2] This policy was abandoned to enable retention of World Tour status. Its sponsor was Euskaltel, a Basque telecom company. Euskaltel–Euskadi was famous for its all-orange team kits. Whenever the Tour de France passed through the Basque Country many spectators lined the route dressed in the team's orange or the colours of the Basque flag. The Euskaltel team also has a second team inside the "Fundacion Euskadi", this team rode in a continental category, the name of the team was Orbea. This team was created with the aim of forming the young cyclist before going to the Euskaltel–Euskadi.

History

Following the creation of the Euskadi Cycling Foundation (June 1993), Euskadi was established in 1994 (as Euskadi-Petronor), and has been recognizable among the peloton for their bright orange kit (which developed later in the team's history).^[3] After a financially turbulent first few seasons, in which the team was on the brink of folding multiple times, they secured their long term and most successful sponsor Euskaltel.^[3] By 1999, with Roberto Laiseka winning the team's first Grand Tour stage win this investment had paid off.^[3] In 2001 they were invited to the Tour de France and achieved another victory for Laiseka in the Pyrénées.^[3]

After a 2003 Tour de France breakthrough success during which both Iban Mayo and Haimar Zubeldia finished in the top-10 of the general classification, with Mayo winning the prized Alpe d'Huez stage. Euskaltel–Euskadi was considered to be a strong contender for the 2004 Tour de France as well. Iban Mayo's commanding victory in the 2004 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré stage race (traditionally seen as one of the tests for Tour de France contenders), including defeating Lance Armstrong in the Mont Ventoux hill climb individual time trial stage, further fueled the hype. Unfortunately, Mayo was injured in a crash on a pavé section of an early stage of the Tour de France, and abandoned in the first Pyrénées stage. Zubeldia also failed to deliver in the 2004 Tour de France, to the chagrin of Basque fans lining the road. "I wish that our uniform was not so easy to spot," admitted directeur sportif Julián Gorospe.

In the 2005 season the team recruited Aitor González, who won the Tour de Suisse. They again failed to make an impression in the 2005 Tour de France. In 2006 the sporting director Julián Gorospe was replaced by Igor González de Galdeano, who became technical secretary. Euskaltel–Euskadi ranked 13th in the UCI World Tour rankings among 18 teams, but only the top 15 teams automatically qualify for the World Tour for the following year ^(source?). The other teams qualify based on a variety of criteria, including team points and a dedication to clean racing, but the most important are points earned by individual riders.

Under points pressure, Euskaltel confirmed in 2012 that it would break with its long-standing policy of signing a majority of Basque riders and would employ riders of other countries to assure its UCI World Tour standing. This has had knock on effects for the makeup of other traditionally Basque teams such as Orbea and Caja Rural. For example, in the 2013 season Euskaltel's Amets Txurruka and Iván Velasco moved to Caja Rural.^[4]

The withdrawal of sponsorship via government funds prompted the team to announce it would be unable to continue after the 2013 season. In September 2013 Formula One racing driver Fernando Alonso expressed a wish to ensure the team's survival by buying their UCI World Tour license^[5] but reached no agreement with the team.^[6]

In 2018 Mikel Landa, the President of the Euskadi Cycling Foundation, established Team Fundación Euskadi on the Continental tour.^[3] In 2020, Euskaltel revived its sponsorship, thereby rebranding the team with the name of its predecessor, Euskaltel-Euskadi.^[7]

Final team roster

As of 9 September 2013.^[8]^[9]

	Rider	Date of birth
Jon Aberasturi (ESP)		(1989-03-28)28 March 1989 (aged 23)
Igor Antón (ESP)		(1983-03-02)2 March 1983 (aged 29)
Mikel Astarloza (ESP)		(1979-11-17)17 November 1979 (aged 33)
Jorge Azanza (ESP)		(1982-06-16)16 June 1982 (aged 30)
Pello Bilbao (ESP)		(1990-02-27)27 February 1990 (aged 22)
Garikoitz Bravo (ESP)		(1989-07-31)31 July 1989 (aged 23)
Tarik Chaoufi^{[N 1]} (MAR)		(1986-02-26)26 February 1986 (aged 26)
Ricardo García (ESP)		(1988-02-26)26 February 1988 (aged 24)
Gorka Izagirre (ESP)		(1987-10-07)7 October 1987 (aged 25)
Ion Izagirre (ESP)		(1989-02-04)4 February 1989 (aged 23)
Jure Kocjan (SLO)		(1984-10-18)18 October 1984 (aged 28)
Mikel Landa (ESP)		(1989-12-13)13 December 1989 (aged 23)
Juan José Lobato (ESP)		(1988-12-29)29 December 1988 (aged 24)
Egoi Martínez (ESP)		(1978-05-15)15 May 1978 (aged 34)
Ricardo Mestre (POR)		(1983-09-11)11 September 1983 (aged 29)

	Rider	Date of birth
Miguel Mínguez (ESP)		(1988-08-30)30 August 1988 (aged 24)
Mikel Nieve (ESP)		(1984-05-26)26 May 1984 (aged 28)
Juan José Oroz (ESP)		(1980-11-07)7 November 1980 (aged 32)
Rubén Pérez (ESP)		(1981-10-30)30 October 1981 (aged 31)
Steffen Radochla (GER)		(1978-10-19)19 October 1978 (aged 34)
Adrián Sáez (ESP)		(1986-03-17)17 March 1986 (aged 26)
Samuel Sánchez (ESP)		(1978-02-05)5 February 1978 (aged 34)
André Schulze (GER)		(1974-11-21)21 November 1974 (aged 38)
Alexander Serebryakov^{[N 2]} (RUS)		(1987-09-25)25 September 1987 (aged 25)
Romain Sicard (FRA)		(1988-01-01)1 January 1988 (aged 25)
Ioannis Tamouridis (GRE)		(1980-06-03)3 June 1980 (aged 32)
Pablo Urtasun (ESP)		(1980-03-29)29 March 1980 (aged 32)
Gorka Verdugo (ESP)		(1978-11-04)4 November 1978 (aged 34)
Robert Vrečer (SLO)		(1980-10-08)8 October 1980 (aged 32)

^ Chaoufi left the team on 13 August.^[10]
^ Serebryakov was suspended from the team on 6 April, adverse analytical finding in an out-of-competition drugs test in March.^[9] He was later sacked.

Major wins

1995: Stages 4 & 8 Volta ao Algarve, Asier Guenetxea

1996: Memorial Manuel Galera, Iñaki Ayarzagüena; Txitxarro Igoera, Iñaki Ayarzagüena; Stage 4 Vuelta a Asturias, Álvaro González de Galdeano; Spain Time Trial Championship, Iñigo González de Heredia

1997: Stage 4 Vuelta a los Valles Mineros, Igor González de Galdeano

1998: Stage 8 Tour de l'Avenir, Txema Del Olmo Zendegi; Stages 7 & 12 Volta a Portugal, Unai Etxebarria; Clásica de Sabiñánigo, Igor González de Galdeano; Stage 5 Volta a Galicia, Igor González de Galdeano

1999: Stage 1 GP Mitsubishi, Aitor Silloniz; Stage 4 GP Jornal de Noticias, José Alberto Martínez; Stage 1 GP du Midi-Libre, José Alberto Martínez; Stage 18 Vuelta a España, Roberto Laiseka

2000

Overall, GP Jornal de Noticias, Mikel Artetxe Guezuraga

Stages 1 & 4 GP Jornal de Noticias, Mikel Artetxe Guezuraga

Klasika Primavera, Unai Etxebarria

Overall Tour de l'Avenir, Iker Flores

Stage 8, Aitor Kintana

Stage 9, Iker Flores

Prologue Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Alberto Lopez de Munain Ruiz de Gauna

Stage 1 Vuelta a Asturias, Alberto Lopez de Munain Ruiz de Gauna

Stage 1 Vuelta a Burgos, José Alberto Martínez

Overall Euskal Bizikleta, Haimar Zubeldia

Stage 4b, Haimar Zubeldia

2001: Stage 5 Vuelta a Andalucía, Mikel Artetxe; Stage 3 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, David Etxebarria; Stage 3 Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme, Aitor Silloniz; Stage 4 Tour of the Basque Country, Angel Castresana; Stage 4 Vuelta a La Rioja, Igor Flores; Stage 5 Vuelta a Asturias, Alberto López de Munain; Overall GP du Midi-Libre, Iban Mayo; Classique des Alpes, Iban Mayo; Stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Unai Etxebarria; Stage 6 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iban Mayo; Stage 14 Tour de France, Roberto Laiseka

2002: Trofeo Manacor, Igor Flores; Overall Critérium International, José Alberto Martínez; Stages 5a & 5b Tour of the Basque Country, David Etxebarria; Stage 1 Vuelta a Castilla y León, David Herrero; Stage 4a Euskal Bizikleta, David Etxebarria; Stage 5 Troféu Joaquim Agostinho, Mikel Artetxe; Stage 7 Tour de l'Avenir, Aitor Silloniz

2003

Overall Tour of the Basque Country, Iban Mayo

Stages 1, 5a & 5b Iban Mayo

Stage 1 Vuelta a La Rioja, David Herrero

Stage 1 Euskal Bizikleta, David Etxebarria

Prologue & Stage 4 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iban Mayo

Stage 1 Troféu Joaquim Agostinho, Lander Euba

Stage 8 Tour de France, Iban Mayo

Stage 5 Vuelta a Burgos, Gorka González

Overall Tour de l'Avenir, Egoi Martínez

2004

Trofeo Calvià, Unai Etxebarria

Overall Clásica de Alcobendas, Iban Mayo

Stages 1 & 2, Iban Mayo

Subida al Naranco, Iban Mayo

GP Llodio, Unai Etxebarria

Overall Vuelta a Asturias, Iban Mayo

Stage 5 Euskal Bizikleta, Roberto Laiseka

Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iban Mayo

Prologue & Stage 4, Iban Mayo

2005

Stage 2 Clásica de Alcobendas, David Herrero

GP Llodio, David Herrero

Stage 4b Euskal Bizikleta, David Herrero

Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iñigo Landaluze

Overall Tour de Suisse, Aitor González

Stage 9, Aitor González

Stage 5 Vuelta a Burgos, David Herrero

Stage 11 Vuelta a España, Roberto Laiseka

Stage 13 Vuelta a España, Samuel Sánchez

Escalada a Montjuïc, Samuel Sánchez

2006

Stages 2 & 3 Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez

Stage 5 Euskal Bizikleta, David Herrero

Stage 6 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iban Mayo

Stage 3 Vuelta a Asturias, Samuel Sánchez

Overall Vuelta a Burgos, Iban Mayo

Stage 4, Iban Mayo

Subida a Urkiola, Iban Mayo

Stage 13 Vuelta a España, Samuel Sánchez

Stage 16 Vuelta a España, Igor Antón

Züri-Metzgete, Samuel Sánchez

Escalada a Montjuïc, Igor Antón

2007: Trofeo Calvià, Unai Etxebarria; Stage 7 Tirreno–Adriatico, Koldo Fernández; Stage 6 Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez; Stage 4 Tour de Romandie, Igor Antón; Stage 7 Volta a Catalunya, Samuel Sánchez; Stages 15, 19 & 20 Vuelta a España, Samuel Sánchez

2008: Stage 5 Vuelta a Murcia, Koldo Fernández; Stage 5 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Koldo Fernández; Stage 2b Vuelta a Asturias, Samuel Sánchez; Stage 2 Euskal Bizikleta, Koldo Fernández; Stage 2 Tour de Suisse, Igor Antón; Stage 3 Vuelta a Burgos, Koldo Fernández; Tour de Vendée, Koldo Fernández

2009: Stage 2 Volta ao Algarve, Koldo Fernández; GP Llodio, Samuel Sánchez; Circuito de Getxo, Koldo Fernández; Subida a Urkiola, Igor Antón; Stage 1 Vuelta a Burgos, Koldo Fernández

2010

Stage 4 Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez

Klasika Primavera, Samuel Sánchez

Stage 3 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Igor Antón

Stage 1 Vuelta a Asturias, Pablo Urtasun

Stage 3b Vuelta a Asturias, Beñat Intxausti

Stage 5 Tour de Romandie, Igor Antón

Stage 1 Bayern Rundfahrt, Rubén Pérez

Stage 4 Tour de Luxembourg, Gorka Izagirre

Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia, Gorka Izagirre

Overall Vuelta a Burgos, Samuel Sánchez

Stage 1, Koldo Fernández

Stages 2 & 5, Samuel Sánchez

Stages 4 & 11 Vuelta a España, Igor Antón

Stage 16 Vuelta a España, Mikel Nieve

Tour de Vendée, Koldo Fernández

2011: GP Miguel Induráin, Samuel Sánchez; Stage 4 Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez; Prologue Tour de Romandie, Jonathan Castroviejo; Stage 1 Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid, Jonathan Castroviejo; Stage 14 Giro d'Italia, Igor Antón; Stage 15 Giro d'Italia, Mikel Nieve; Stage 12 Tour de France, Samuel Sánchez; Stage 1 Vuelta a Burgos, Samuel Sánchez; Stage 5 Vuelta a Burgos, Mikel Landa; Stage 19 Vuelta a España, Igor Antón

2012

Stage 6 Volta a Catalunya, Samuel Sánchez

Overall Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez

Stages 3 & 6 (ITT), Samuel Sánchez

Stage 2b (ITT) Vuelta a Asturias, Jon Izagirre

Stage 16 Giro d'Italia, Jon Izagirre

Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia, Gorka Izagirre

Stage 7 Tour of Britain, Pablo Urtasun

2013: Stage 1 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Pablo Urtasun; Stage 2 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Juan José Lobato; Stage 7 Critérium du Dauphiné, Samuel Sánchez; Greece Time Trial Championships, Ioannis Tamouridis; Greece Road Race Championships, Ioannis Tamouridis; Circuito de Getxo, Juan José Lobato

References

^ http://www.fundacioneuskadi.com/pag/ca_fundacion_creacion.asp?cod=1&ocultar=1&ocultarp=1 Archived 2012-02-28 at the Wayback Machine Foundation as described on the website of the FEC
^ "Pedalling towards victory". Athletic Bilbao. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Belbin, Giles (October 2018). "Jersey Tales No6: Euskaltel-Euskadi. With rider development as its core purpose, the Basque outfit built a cult following during its time in the pro ranks". Cyclist: The Thrill of the Ride. 079: 35–36.
^ "Euskaltel-Euskadi denies 'deal for points' with Óscar Freire". Velonews. Competitor Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
^ Wynn, Nigel (2 September 2013). "Fernando Alonso buys Euskaltel's WorldTour licence". Cycling Weekly. IPC Media Limited. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
^ Phillips, Braden. "Alonso's purchase of Euskaltel-Euskadi team collapses". Thomson Reuters. Reuters UK. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
^ Ostanek, Daniel (27 February 2020). "Euskaltel returns to cycling as lead sponsor of Fundación-Orbea". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
^ "Euskaltel-Euskadi (EUS) – ESP". UCI World Tour. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Serebryakov returns positive out of competition test". Cycling News. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
^ "Chaoufi released by Euskaltel Euskadi". Cyclingnews.com. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.

External links

[11] Chaoufi left the team on 13 August.^[10]

[12] Serebryakov was suspended from the team on 6 April, adverse analytical finding in an out-of-competition drugs test in March.^[9] He was later sacked.

[1] ttp://www.fundacioneuskadi.com/pag/ca_fundacion_creacion.asp?cod=1&ocultar=1&ocultarp=1 Archived 2012-02-28 at the Wayback Machine Foundation as described on the website of the FEC

[acpedal-2] "Pedalling towards victory". Athletic Bilbao. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.

[:0-3] Belbin, Giles (October 2018). "Jersey Tales No6: Euskaltel-Euskadi. With rider development as its core purpose, the Basque outfit built a cult following during its time in the pro ranks". Cyclist: The Thrill of the Ride. 079: 35–36.

[4] "Euskaltel-Euskadi denies 'deal for points' with Óscar Freire". Velonews. Competitor Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.

[5] Wynn, Nigel (2 September 2013). "Fernando Alonso buys Euskaltel's WorldTour licence". Cycling Weekly. IPC Media Limited. Retrieved 2 September 2013.

[6] Phillips, Braden. "Alonso's purchase of Euskaltel-Euskadi team collapses". Thomson Reuters. Reuters UK. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2013.

[7] Ostanek, Daniel (27 February 2020). "Euskaltel returns to cycling as lead sponsor of Fundación-Orbea". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.

[Euskaltel-8] "Euskaltel-Euskadi (EUS) – ESP". UCI World Tour. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2013.

[Serebryakov-9] "Serebryakov returns positive out of competition test". Cycling News. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.

[10] "Chaoufi released by Euskaltel Euskadi". Cyclingnews.com. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.

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History

Final team roster

Major wins

See also

References

External links