The Euskaltel-Euskadi team has announced its lineup for the Tour Down Under from January 16 to 23, 2011, in Australia. With the first team camp barely finished, the Basque outfit is getting ready to tackle a season which they hope will be as successful as 2010 was.
The team of Igor González de Galdeano will bring some of its sprinters, and will try to get some stage win glory. The hopes lie on Gorka Izagirre and Rubén Pérez, who have taken wins already in 2010. For Gorka, the race will be special also, as his brother Ion has joined the squad and they will have their first race together on a ProTour team. Iñaki Isasi has shown that he can hold his own in tough finishes, so he hopes to get a good overall ranking in Australia.
Iván Velasco has his eyes mostly set on stage five. The tough and hilly ride features two ascents of the infamous Willunga climb. Miguel Minguez, Ion Izagirre and Daniel Sesma are the support riders for the team. Euskaltel-Euskadi hopes to top its 17 wins from 2010.
The Euskaltel-Euskadi team for the 2011 Tour Down Under:
Rubén Pérez, Iñaki Isasi, Gorka Izagirre, Iván Velasco, Miguel Minguez, Daniel Sesma, and Ion Izagirre