Contract extensions
All three Blue riders to remain with Telefónica-backed squad in 2019 after remarkable work for Eusebio Unzué's outfit in the Grand Tours.
The Movistar Team confirmed Monday that Andrey Amador (San José, CRC; 1986), Daniele Bennati (Arezzo, ITA; 1980) and Imanol Erviti (Pamplona, ESP; 1983) have all signed contrats that will see them staying with the Eusebio Unzué-led squad through the end of the 2019 season. All three Blues have been part of the Tour de France roster last July, and decisively contributed to yesterday’s brilliant Vuelta a España stage win by Alejandro Valverde atop Caminito del Rey.
Amador, 4th-placed finisher in the 2015 Giro d’Italia and ‘Corsa Rosa’ GC leader in 2016, has completed an excellent 2018 season, with outstanding teamwork -most notably in the Tour de France, where he became a crucial helper for the team’s references- and good individual results that include a victory (Klasika Primavera) and a second place (Vuelta a Andalucía TT). Andrey will be starting his 11th season in Blue, almost his entire professional career, when he joins the rest of Unzué’s team at their kickoff meeting later this year.
Erviti is a legend of the Abarca Sports organisation, where he has contributed to dozens of victories for the fifteen consecutive years he’ll be reaching as part of the Blue squad in 2019. A very smart rider, a true powerhouse who defends himself well in hillier terrains when the team asks him to do so, Imanol is also an expert cobbled classics specialist, having obtained consecutive top-ten results at both the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix in 2016. Imanol’s extension will keep alive a long tradition of respected road captains forged in the Telefónica-backed squad.
In turn, Bennati, will be staying for a third season with Unzué’s team in 2018, his 18th since he turned pro back in 2002. Daniele’s 54 pro victories as a sprinter, in lots of different races and situations, have granted him the experience needed to value what’s needed as a domestique. A sensational support for his team leaders for the past few years, he’s always expressed his pride about working for the likes of Quintana, Landa and Valverde, all of which have enjoyed his expertise during the 2018 season.