The son of five time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain is embarking on his own career in the sport, with the eighteen year old – also called Miguel – inking a deal to join the espoir ranks of the Caja Rural team.
Indurain junior has chosen a different path than that advocated by his family, who wanted him to go to law school. According to El Correo, the young rider has decided not to follow that advice and wants instead to work towards the same career as his father and his uncle, former pro Prudencio Indurain.
The 18 year old is the regional Navarran champion for road race and time trial and wants to see what he can do in the Under 23 ranks.
Caja Rural is a pro Continental team based in Navarra, although Indurain will race in its espoir division. If he impresses, he will presumably get the chance to progress upwards within the team structure, or indeed with another squad.
The Movistar team is likely to keep an eye on his progress; the squad has been involved in the sport for many years, under the backing of Reynolds, Banesto, Illes Balears and Caisse d’Epargne.
Indurain’s father turned pro with the setup in 1984, and raced there until 1996. In that time he won five Tours, as well as two Giri d’Italia, the Olympic time trial, the world championship time trial plus shorter stage races such as Paris-Nice, the Volta a Catalunya and the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.
Concious that the biggest impediment to his son’s success is the pressure he could face, the Caja Rural team has made clear that he will be given time to develop. It has told him to enjoy himself for now, knowing that patience is important.