Spaniard happy that team changes his traditional late summer program
Pablo Lastras (Movistar) is changing his traditional program of the Tour of Poland and the Eneco Tour to include Spanish races like the Clasica a San Sebastián. The team informed the Spaniard about the change, which he is happy about.
The news comes as a surprise to Lastras. “Like in the last two years, I had planned on riding the Tour of Poland, the Eneco Tour and various one-day races abroad,” he says. “But a few days ago they told me that I will be riding the Spanish calendar.” Lastras was glad to hear that. “I like racing no matter which country and no matter what race, but doing the Spanish events, after three years, is wonderful.”
Movistar knows that Lastras is very reliable, so it already extended the contract of the 35-year-old for another two years. Lastras has been with the various predecessor teams of Eusebio Unzúe and also in the amateur squad. “I had offers from other teams,” he admits. “Really good ones, too. But at Movistar they value my work and my faithfulness, so I decided to continue with the team with which I always was.”
Lastras had a very solid Giro d’Italia, finishing tenth in the points classification. He was in the top ten on three occasions, including a second place in stage 17 (Feltre – Tirano) and a third place in stage 3 (Reggio nell’Emilia – Rapallo). He was 38th overall. “Currently, nothing is confirmed for the Vuelta, but if the team thinks it to be convenient and they require my presence, I’d be delighted,” he says. “Even though I raced a lot this year, I feel fresh and I have a strong desire to race.”
Lastras has taken stage wins in the Vuelta, among other victories. But the last time he could celebrate being first in a UCI event stems from 2008, when he took the Vuelta a Andalucia- Ruta del Sol.