Alberto Contador Foundation will have 29 riderss in the 2017 season
Alberto Contador Foundation has already completed its roster for 2017 season, fifth for Junior squad and fourth for U-23, where again there are many changes both with new riders and members of the coaching staff, always with the aim of further improving the work of forming new figures of national and international cycling.
Apart from the coming and leave riders in both teams, among the most interesting changes highlights the increased U-23 roster. “We have decided to increase the number of riders due to the demands of the calendar to cover and because we want to be competitive to meet each and every one races to which we go”, says Fran Contador, manager of the Foundation.
“We strengthened with three riders from the disappeared Infisport and also with its sport director, Gorka Beloki, who will be the second director of the team, supporting Rafa Diaz Justo. We have a very full schedule and Gorka has a lot of experience, has given very good image with his team, he knows the category and has done great things with few resources. He will bring a lot to the Alberto Contador Foundation”, continues the team manager. “And, of course, our best signings are the riders who are still with us. It has been a success to keep them, because they are needed by the team”.
The team is completed with the arrival of three of the best juniors from the Alberto Contador Foundation and two very interesting foreigners, Portuguese Daniel Viegas, winner of the last Tour
of Besaya, and British Harrison Jones, from a continental team of his country, that arrives eager to take this opportunity in Spain. Fran Contador stresses that sought to make “a team as balanced as possible, with riders of all ages, with different objectives. In total we have 4 riders of first year, 4 of second, 6 of third, 1 of fourth year and one elite. The previous seasons we had very young teams, but this year we aim to improve performance and win more races, because it is also part of the evolution of these cyclists”.
The new juniors, from the Selection Camp of ‘La Mafia’
One more year, the Junior team has been deeply renewed thanks to the riders coming from the Selection Campus sponsored by the chain of Italian restaurants ‘La Mafia se sienta a la mesa’. In addition, Fran Contador highlights this season “the addition of two foreign riders to the roster, because so far, apart from the occasional exchanges with the Tieltse Renners of Belgium, which continue, have had only foreigners in the Sub-23. Our goal is to further deepen the international character of Alberto Contador Foundation and this is another step. Our goals do not change”, continues the manager of Alberto Contador Foundation. “We want to continue to educate good riders, that either on our team or other, may go to U-23 knowing the way of how to work as a cyclist in depth”.
In both categories, the objectives of Alberto Contador Foundation are to “maintain and perhaps increase the number of races abroad, key in this project”, indicates Fran, “to contrast our riders with the rest of the world to reach the same level”. As for the technical team of the Contador Foundation, another important reinforcement comes from HP Sports Science, to monitoring health and preparation of all riders. It is a multidisciplinary team created at the University of Murcia and composed by sports trainers, doctors, nutritionists and psychologists in which Jorge Ramos, coach of Alberto Contador Foundation will also be integrated. Fran Contador says the idea was “to offer our riders a more personalized and comprehensive monitoring throughout the year to help as much as possible to develop their full potential. And of course, we hope that also this will be reflected in the performance and results of our teams”.
(Automatic translation. Forgive inaccuracies)
