Presentation
Australia and Argentina will be the first stops of the strongest cycling team in Spain just in ten days' time
The full 2013 roster of the Movistar Team has been presented to the media today in the Auditorio Telefónica of its headquarters in Madrid. All 25 riders forming up Spanish cycling’s main structure were present at the event, and more than half of them already have their suitcase ready to travel to Australia and Argentina, with the Tour Down Under the Tour de San Luis opening a long Movistar Team schedule for 2013 in ten days’ time.
General manager Eusebio Unzué offered there his overview on the riders filling up the roster for the structure’s 34th season in the pro scene, the third in Movistar colors: “We’re keeping the base, the block that gave us such great success during the last two seasons, and that’s surely the best news. Having such qualified riders as Valverde, Cobo, Rojas, Ventoso, Visconti or Lastras is a guarantee for every squad and the youngsters like Rui Costa, Quintana, Amador, Intxausti or Castroviejo took an impressive step last year and are already set to do important things this season. Regarding the transfers, we’ve got aboard two important guys with Szmyd and Capecchi, who have already proven their quality; two riders that will make us stronger in the flat and the time trials, Dowsett and Teruel; and a big hope for the future, Argiro Ospina. With those riders in mind, we should at least be expecting to equal the results obtained these past two years. With a solid leader like Alejandro, you can only think about the Grand Tour overall podiums, and that’s what we’ll take a shot at.”
Since Telefónica took over as title sponsor in 2011, Unzué’s squad has obtained 50 victories, 29 of those in the last season, where Movistar Team ended up as 5th in the World Tour team ranking. The Spanish squad is the only one with stage wins in all three Grand Tours (Giro, Tour, Vuelta) in 2012, a success also achieved in 2011. For the season that starts now, the team will be facing a calendar of more than 250 competition days through fourteen countries and four continents, directed by a staff which is adding two of the most important riders in the team’s history, Chente García Acosta and José Luis Laguía.