19 December 2011

The Euskaltel Euskadi team for the 2012 Santos Tour Down Under announced today will include six Spanish riders and one Frenchman, just the second non-Spanish rider in the team’s history.

Santos Tour Down Under Race Director Mike Turtur said the Euskaltel Euskadi team was a welcome addition to the race.

“We know Romain Sicard, Gorka Izagirre, Pablo Urtasun and Ruben Perez have abandoned the bad weather in Northern Spain to optimise their training by moving to the Costa Blanca to train. This is with the objective of starting the 2012 season in good form, so it will be interesting to see what impact this has,” Turtur said.

In 2009, Sicard won the U23 UCI World Championship Road Race. In 2010, he joined Euskaltel Euskadi as the only second non-Spanish rider in the team’s history.

Izagirre finished 12th overall at the 2011 Santos Tour Down Under and seventh on Stage 3.

“Izagirre made his Tour de France debut this year at the age of 23, establishing himself in a five man breakaway on stage four. He will be one to watch in 2012,” Turtur said.

Perez is a Grand Tour rider who will bring a wealth of experience to the ‘orange’ team, debuting at the Vuelta a Espana in 2006 and the Tour de France in 2007. He also took honours on stage one of the 2009 Tour of Bavaria.

The Euskaltel Euskadi team includes three new arrivals for the 2012 season, all debuting with the team in Adelaide. Ricardo García, Victor Cabedo and Adrián Sáez de Arregui are all joining Euskaltel Euskadi from the Orbea Continental team.

The Euskaltel Euskadi team for the 2012 Santos Tour Down Under will be led by Team Manager, Inaki Isasi (ESP) and include riders: Romain Sicard (FRA), Gorka Izagirre (ESP), Victor Cabedo (ESP), Pablo Urtasun (ESP), Ruben Perez (ESP), Adrián Sáez de Arregui (ESP) and Ricardo Garcia (ESP).

More rider and team announcements will be issued over the coming days.

Jessica Hurt on 0412 784 587 or jessica.hurt@tourism.sa.com
Michele D’Aloia on 0417 837 896 or michele.daloia@bigpond.com