Sergio Calvo, Gerard Cano, Balint Feldhoffer and Manuel Sanroma jumps from U19 to U23 Fundación Contador structure

Sergio Calvo, Gerard Cano, Manuel Sanroma and Balint Feldhoffer are the four riders from the junior structure of the Fundación Contador who will be promoted to the U23 team directed by Rafa Díaz Justo for next season. And three of them will take part in the next Vuelta Cicloturista a Ibiza. Between 13 and 15 October, the idyllic Mediterranean island will host three days of road cycling which, for this edition, they have wanted to share with a representation of the U23 team that will be accompanied by both Fran Contador and Alberto Contador. Two riders who once rode with the junior squad, Álex García and Antonio González, will accompany Sergio Calvo, Manuel Sanroma and Gerard Cano in their ‘debut’.

Sanroma, from Almagro (2005), has faced his passage through the youth category within the discipline of the Fundación Contador. About the future, he says: “It’s time to make the jump to the next category, an important change because of the increase in mileage and that the first year is harder because of the adaptation process. I’m really looking forward to it and I’m very motivated. These first few rides in Ibiza are going to be an unforgettable experience, for sure”.

Calvo (2005), from A Rúa in Ourense, joined the team mid-season from Rias Baixas and from the very first moment he achieved important results, such as the overall of the Volta a Girona or a stage of the prestigious Bizkaiko Itzulia or the third place in the Vuelta a la Montaña Central. “I’m very happy with this opportunity, now it’s time to rest but we are already thinking about 2024”, says the Galician champion of the category.

Gerard Cano (2025) competed in the colours of EOLO-KOMETA during 2023 and was in charge of opening the season’s list of winners with his success in Berriatua. Cano, a good climber, would finish second in the Trofeo Ayuntamiento de Valdefresno or third in the final overall of the Volta o Barbanza: “It is a very important step for this part of ‘my cycling life’ and being able to do it in the ranks of the Contador Foundation gives a lot of peace of mind because they take great care of the riders. It is clear that it will be a demanding step and that it will be difficult to adapt, but with hard work and perseverance everything is possible. Personally I think it will be a year of learning and we will try to enjoy it as much as possible and help the team in everything necessary. And for all this, travelling to Ibiza will be a little bit more special”.

Balint Feldhoffer (2005), the only one of the four riders of the youth structure who will not be able to go to Ibiza, is a Hungarian cyclist who has spent two seasons in the category within the discipline of the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team, the result of the commitment of the Contador Foundation with the promotion of Magyar cycling with the help of its sponsor Kometa. Balint is a very complete and combative cyclist, able to put together very consistent performances as he has done in races like the Volta a Barbanza, the Vuelta a la Montaña Central or the Vuelta la Ribera del Duero: “I am very optimistic about the 2024 season, I am very excited. I am aware that both the level and the environment will be different from the current one, but I am confident that I will be able to prepare well, get in good shape, learn a lot and, why not, fight for good results”.

“With a view to next season we want to make the team much younger and for this we have incorporated four riders from the youth structure who we believe can bring us many things in the coming years and who have always been very clear that they wanted to make the jump in category within this structure, although it is true that we would have liked to have at least one more rider in this dynamic of promotions”, says Rafa Díaz Justo. “We like to work slowly but surely with the young riders who make the jump, and the first year always requires a certain attitude. It’s a formula that continues to work season after season. A very recent and very valid example is Antonio González, who two years ago was facing this moment, and has had a very interesting second half of the campaign, with a great leap forward at all levels”.

[ ? José O., Ángel Martín, Aroa Santamaría y J. F. C]