Igor Anton to lead Euskaltel-Euskadi at 2011 Giro d'Italia
Spanish rider Igor Anton is set to lead Euskaltel-Eskadi at the 2011 Giro d'Italia, while his more experienced compatriot Samuel Sanchez will lead the team's Tour de France bid next year.
Speaking to Basque daily El Correo, Euskaltel manager Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano said that Anton, who won two stages at this year's Vuelta a Espana but has yet to win any at the Giro, will aim for the general classification at the
first Grand Tour of the season.
"The team is ready to go to next year’s Giro with Igor Anton with high expectations: not to see what happens, but with ambition," he said.
Anton, who wore the red leader's jersey as he crashed to end his 2010 Vuelta run prematurely, will be challenged by several other riders at the Giro, but Gonzalez de Galdeano said the Spaniard could lead his team beyond their basic objective
of one stage win.
"Anton will be at 100 percent. We know that the Italians will all be there, but we will stay in the shadows and not take on too much responsibility. It’s a race which we can adapt too very well. In principle, the objective is a stage, something
we’ve never achieved there, but Igor has made a big leap, both physically and psychologically, and he’s capable of more."
Sanchez to lead Euskaltel at 2011 Tour
With Anton poised for the Giro, another long-time Euskaltel rider, Sanchez, will lead the team at the Tour in July. As a capable descender, Sanchez will look to make the most out of the hilly 2011 route.
"To win the Tour would require a lot of things to go our way," Gonzalez de Galdeano explained. "But [Sanchez] can get on the podium. There are riders who are above him but situations could arise that benefit him."
The manager added that 22-year-old French rider Romain Sicard, who marked his debut season for Euskaltel by finishing second at the Criterium du Dauphine, will be handed his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta in September.
"He will debut at the Vuelta. The aim is for him to get there as fresh as possible. He's the rider of the future," Gonzalez de Galdeano explained.
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