Following the announcement of the death of Xavier Tondo this morning, his Movistar team has confirmed they will continue to race in the Giro d'Italia. The team's general manager Eusebio Unzué felt racing would be the best way to honor the memory of their fallen teammate, a man he said had grown to be a part of the team in a very short time.
"We're devastated, but all together we decided that the best thing is to honor Xavi on the bike," explained Unzué. "He had spent little time with us, but it seemed like it was a decade. He had really got into us all."
Unzué explained that he gave each rider a choice of whether or not to continue riding the Italian Grand Tour.
"We made our riders free to choose what they preferred, but all agreed that the best homage is to keep riding in the Giro," he continued. "We have been in close contact since this morning with all their relatives and accompanying them as well in Granada as in Tarragona, and the rest of the team will be with them for the funeral, but we're convinced Xavi would have liked us to keep on racing."