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iBanesto presentation: no leaders but high hopes
Spanish team iBanesto.com approaches the 2002 season without a real leader, but goes into the three grand tours prepared to fight hard for Spanish cycling.
Launched in Madrid yesterday, the new team of 26 riders will tackle the Giro, Tour de France, Vuelta and World Cups with two new riders and funding for another two years - although its budget has been re-examined following its lack of success since the days of the now retired Indurain (who won the Tour de France in 1995, lost it in 1996 and retired in 1997).
The team lost four riders - Juan Carlos Dominguez, Cesar Solaun, Portuguese Candido Barbosa and Alberto Benito, but recruited only two - Spanish champion, Ivan Gutierrez (ex-ONCE) and Juan Antonio Flecha (ex-Relax).
While the team is the top Spanish team and sits in sixth position on the UCI classification, none of its riders appears in the UCI top 25 (first rider Juan-Miguel Mercado is ranked 28th). As such, it no longer boasts the leaders of previous years, but sporting director Eusebio Unzué is nevertheless confident.
"Like last year, we will try to shine with our young people and our veterans. When one asks them (where they are) they can answer present ", Unzué said.
iBanesto.com was successful in last year's Giro (podium with Unai Osa and a stage victory with Pablo Lastras) and the Vuelta (teams classification, five stages, mountain jersey and points jersey and, the leaders want to secure a good performance in the Tour this year.
Veteran José-Maria Jimenez, 31, judged out of form and not selected for last year's Tour de France, has been told to prepare better this year. "This episode is forgotten. My number one priority will be the Tour de France," he said. "I will try to gain one or more stages in the mountains. Generally, it is too hard, there is too much time trialling, but why not also the mountain jersey."
iBanesto is also relying on the up and coming Russian Denis Menchov, 23 years and winner of the 2001 Tour de L'Avenir and Spaniard Francisco Mancebo, 24, best young rider in the 2000 Tour de France.
Unai Osa has been named for the Giro, but not the Tour. Unzué says he must still have patience before being able to take part in the Tour. The leader of the Vuelta will be Juan Miguel Mercado even if José-Maria Jimenez and Santiago Blanco will have cards to play.
New recruit Juan Antonio Flecha is a rider who likes one day races over difficult terrain. Like Osa, he will be using the ride to gain experience for the future.
Team manager José Miguel Echávarri told Cyclingnews that "The team will debut in the Mallorca Challenge on February 3 and will continue with the early season French races (Tour of the Mediterranean, Criterium International), as well as racing in Italy (Tirreno-Adriactico and Milan-San Remo) and of course many Spanish races together with a few in Portugal."
