Eight other Euskaltel Euskadi riders left without a deal
Thus far unconfirmed as having a contract for the upcoming season, Spanish media has suggested that former Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez has indeed found a slot for 2014 and will remain part of the top division of teams.
El Pais quotes various unnamed sources as saying that Sanchez has closed a deal with a WorldTour squad, and that the details of this will be announced in January.
The 35 year old rider was left without a team when his Euskaltel Euskadi squad folded. Talks with Formula One driver and cycling enthusiast Fernando Alonso failed to find a solution to keeping the team and its riders on the road, and so Sanchez was forced to start looking elsewhere.
In November Team Colombia confirmed to VeloNation that it had made initial contact with Sanchez, but said that he needed to resolve his ongoing contract situation with the Euskaltel Euskadi setup first.
It is thought that he is seeking a settlement as his contract with the team had been due to run beyond the end of this year.
Providing that is resolved, the payout would mean that whichever team signs him up would either not need to pay him a salary or would have a far smaller wage bill than would otherwise be the case.
El Pais’ article today suggests that a destination has been found, although it may be several more weeks before that is publicly revealed.
Former team-mate Igor Anton was confirmed earlier this week as moving to the Movistar team. According to El Pais, a total of eight riders from the Euskaltel Euskadi setup have not yet found any ride for next year. These are Egoi Martínez, Jon Aberasturi, Jorge Azanza, Ricardo García, Miguel Mínguez, Rubén Pérez, Gorka Verdugo and Steffen Radochla.
Two others, Mikel Astarloza and Adrián Sáez de Arregi, have announced that they will retire.