Samuel Sanchez positive to continue with Team Euskaltel-Euskadi through 2013
Samuel Sanchez is continuing his 13th consecutive season with Team Euskaltel-Euskadi and the cyclist is confident that he still has a few more years of his professional career with the team.
The 34-year-old marked his professional debut with the Spanish team in 2000 and has shown loyalty with the team throughout his professional career.
Samuel is enjoying a pretty good season with as many as five first place finishes in the first half of the year.
He secured two stages, the point’s classifications and an overall victory at the Tour of the Basque Country along with a stage 6 and a second overall position at the Volta a Catalunya.
The Spaniard also holds two seventh place finishes to his credit at the Amstel Gold Race and the Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2012.
He occupies the sixth overall position at the UCI World Tour Elite Men ranking with 252UCI points in his bag.
Joaquim Rodriguez of Team Katusha is leading the category with Tom Boonen (366 points) of Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Bradley Wiggins (335 points)of Team Sky and Vincenzo Nibali of Team Liquigas-Cannondale securing the second and the third positions respectively.
Vincenzo Nibali and Peter Sagan of Team Liquigas-Cannondale occupy the fourth and the fifth positions with 272 and 253 UCI points respectively.
Team Euskaltel-Euskadi currently runs under the Fundación Euskadi which is soon to be changed, and a new management is expected to take over the team.
"There should be a model similar to Rabobank, with seventy percent of their cyclists trained in their development team and then reinforced with outside brokers" said Sanchez.
While commenting on his Tour preparations he voiced, "My main objective is to verify that I have the legs of other years, my goal is to have presence in the race, look for the podium and stages."
"Rather than as a director, I'd be the bridge between cyclists and directors. Share my experience. A sort of technical advisor".
Samuel’s current performance is good enough to earn him a spot in any of the top World Tour team but he prefers riding with Team Euskaltel-Euskadi.
"[I have] no shortage of offers but my intention is to continue [with Euskaltel-Eusakadi]," he cited.
The final Tour squad for Team Euskaltel-Euskadi includes Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa), Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) and Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa).
Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa), Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa), Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa), Amets Txurruka Ansola (Spa), Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) and Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) have all been selected for the Tour de France 2012.
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