Signing / Renewal

After Gorka joins the squad, the younger of the Basque brothers (24) arrives into the Blue squad, looking to confirm his progression as one of the biggest hopefuls in world cycling. Ventoso extends contract for one season

After the confirmation of Gorka Izagirre’s (26) signing with the Movistar Team, the telephone squad is also reinforcing its 2014 roster with the younger of the two brothers, Ion (24), one of the most promising talents in the international scene. The saga will be riding with the same jersey, just like they did with Euskaltel-Euskadi during the three seasons Ion has competed in the elite ranks, following a short debut with the Orbea continental outfit.

A remarkable amateur, his three years of progression into the WorldTour have built interesting expectations on him. Top-25 finisher in the Tour de Pologne, the Tirreno-Adriatico and the GP Plouay during his debut season, 2012 was a breakthrough year for him as he won the individual time trial in the Vuelta a Asturias and, above all, the Falzes stage of the Giro d’Italia. His progression went on in 2013 with a 2nd place overall in Pologne (where he led until the very last day), 4th in the Tour Down Under and solid performance in the Spanish road championships (2nd RR, 4th ITT.)

Ventoso stays one more year
In turn, Movistar Team will have Fran Ventoso on its roster for one more year, fulfilling his fourth season as a rider for Eusebio Unzué’s squad. The Cantabrian, 31, wasn’t able to raise his arms victorious this season -such drought not happening for him since 2005-, but he’s still the most winning rider with the Movistar Team jersey after Rui Costa (13), Quintana (12) and Valverde (11). 25 victories in his palmarès and more than ten top places this year are a guarantee so Ventoso can get back to success in 2014.