Euskaltel Euskadi rider secures WorldTour deal, will race alongside Quintana and Valverde
Stranded when his Euskaltel Euskadi folded and the expected takeover by Fernando Alonso ran into difficulties, Basque climber Igor Antón has been confirmed today as completing the Movistar team roster for 2014.
The multiple Grand Tour stage winner has secured a place in the WorldTour for next season, thus ending a long and stressful search. He will line out alongside strong riders such as Tour de France runner-up Nairo Quintana and former Vuelta a España winner Alejandro Valverde.
Antón will be both an important ally in the mountains and also a protagonist himself, and will be keen to add to a list of victories which include stages in the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, as well as the Tour de Suisse and Tour de Romandie.
“The Basque rider, one of the most talented climbers in the pro scene, will try to push his career to higher summits after notorious success in the most important competitions in the world,” stated Movistar today.
The contract will run for the next two seasons, giving him much-needed security after the stress of recent months.
There is still no indication where his long time team-mate Samuel Sanchez will race.