Oscar Freire to lead Spanish team in World Championships – Cycling News
After the long list of cyclists to race for Australia in the World Championships, Spain has also released their list of 12 cyclists for the World Championships starting from the September 19.
Oscar Freire is the only leader to represent the Spanish team in the World Championships and is considered amongst the top sprinters of the sport. Freire has joined the club of four players who holds the honour of winning the Championships three times along
with Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx.
Oscar Freire will be leading the team and the rest of the list includes Juan Manuel Garate, Carlos Barredo and Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), Pablo Lastras and José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar), Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky), Imanol Erviti, Egoi Martinez and Koldo
Fernandez de Larrea (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Vicente Reynes (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Luis Ángel Maté (Cofidis).
Freire was representing team Rabobank at the Vuelta a Espana 2011 and had to leave the tour in the middle because of a cold and still has not recovered fully as his inclusion in the Championships is suspicious. However, De Santos is positive that Freire
will be available to lead the team at the event as he said, “We must remember that there are still four weeks for the world championships.”
He further added that, "this is a team designed to help Oscar Freire, who will be our only team leader for the world championship, which does not have many difficulties, since the elevation gain is only 2,000 meters."
The 2010 Paris Bruxelles winner Francisco Ventoso who rides for team Movistar has not been able to make his way in the Spanish National team as Santos believes that the 29-year-old is not completely fit to make his place in the squad. He mentioned that the
Spanish team is lucky enough to have so many options as Rojas, Koldo and Reynes all can be with Freire towards the finish and he believes that Rojas will be chosen to do that job and other cyclists will be given roles as per the requirements of the stage.
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