Movistar Team 2011 holds presentation in Madrid
01 February 2011

The Telefónica Auditorium in the corporation’s headquarters at Madrid’s Distrito C was the venue for the official presentation of the cycling squad Movistar Team, the group that continues with the tradition of the most successful structure in the history of Spanish cycling.

Twenty-five riders make part of the roster directed by Eusebio Unzué, one of the most remarkable sports directors in the sport, with seven overall Tour de France victories amongst his main achievements.“We’re happier than ever with this project,” explained the Spanish DS. “It’s an enormous pride to count on the backing of such a big sponsor, and it’s a step forward compared to what we had up to this moment. We’re looking for a different team, close to our fans, because we want them to feel as part of our structure. This way, Movistar Team has positioned strongly in favour of interactivity with the team’s followers through the most used social networks, such as Facebook or Twitter, with the motto “Help us build the world’s biggest cycling team” as a way to search for direct connection with all their fans.

The team, which has already taken their competitive début in Australia –winning the teams’ overal classification and a stage with Fran Ventoso at the Tour Down Under- and Argentina –Xavi Tondo notching the individual time trial-, will be on the roads of more than a dozen countries to compete on the internacional calendar’s most important races. The Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España will witness for the first time what’s considered to be an innnovating kit design, in the blue and green colours of the sponsor backing Movistar Team. Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Poland or China are some of the countries where the Spanish team will ride, Movistar Team currently placing in fifth position in the World Tour ranking of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). 

The presentation of the new Movistar Team was also useful to pay tribute to the most representative riders in the legendary trajectory of the squad. The forced absence by Miguel Indurain made him the only missing name as Pedro Delgado, Óscar Pereiro, Abraham Olano, Julián Gorospe, José Luis Laguía and Ángel Arroyo, the most relevant names in Spanish cycling for the last three decades, wanted to share their joy with all the fans as the new era promoted by Movistar and Telefónica begins. The full team is travelling to Palma de Mallorca this evening, as they will get into a new training camp before taking the start of the Challenge de Mallorca, their first race on European turf starting on Sunday.