Contador Foundation, to reorganise its cycling team structure in 2025

With the determination to adjust the reality and evolution of cycling to the structure of the Contador Foundation, next season will serve as a transition year to turn the junior team into an international benchmark while the under-23 team will not continue its work, integrating talent into the professional team.

The general manager of the Contador Foundation, Fran Contador, explains in this interview all the news and the reasons that have led to this reorganization to continue working with the base, and adapt it to the current reality of cycling.

– Why is the Alberto Contador Foundation facing this restructuring 10 years after the creation of the development teams?

The Contador Foundation believes in development work, and that is why it never abandons the training of young talent. However, the evolution of cycling in recent years has affected our structure and how we have to invest the resources available. Currently, in addition to the Professional Continental team, we have an U23 team and a U19 team. There are more than 50 riders, who will now fit into the new reality of international cycling.

Increasingly, we are looking at younger cyclists (even cadets), looking for emerging talent. In fact, in recent years, U19 riders have been called directly to the professional category. This does not mean that the U23’s are left out of the equation, but it is true that the economic and logistical cost does not have the results that we want in our professional team. That is why we are going to take advantage of these resources to promote a youth team with an international vocation.

– Is this an economic decision?

Not at all. It is a strategic decision, not an economic one. These changes do not mean any savings, on the contrary. What they allow us to do is to use the resources in the way we believe is most appropriate to guarantee the future of the project in the face of the WorldTeam squads and the reality of cycling today.

– What will this youth team be like?

The Contador Foundation wants to promote an U19 team that is capable of attracting international talent, offering a top-level European calendar and directly promoting the best riders to the professional team. That is the idea we are going to work with, and on which we are going to focus our efforts. The squad will be around 15 riders and we will work with the same excellence as before, but adapted to the reality of cycling today.

– What will the process be like for the new organisational reality of the Contador Foundation?

2025 will be a transition year, we will have that reinforced U19 team that will face an international calendar in a very professionalised structure, with the same resources as the pro team. The staff will be relocated in order to meet the objectives, and the U23 riders who are not promoted to the pro team will have our help to find a team for 2025.

– What is the reason for taking this decision now?

In a professional team like Polti Kometa, the UCI classification points are crucial. On this score, our invitation to a Grand Tour depends. And taking part in a race like the Giro d’Italia allows us to justify our support to our sponsors.

That’s why we are going to use the resources that were dedicated to the under-23 team to expand the professional team. It will have 24-25 riders, which is more than the 20 required by the UCI. These ‘extra’ riders will be U23 riders coming from the junior project or from other projects. They will allow us to compete in .2 races and score points that will have an impact on the goals of the professional team.

– And the U23 team?

Close the U23 structure was a very difficult decision. But very well thought out. The management of the under-23 team is increasingly complex. The investment is very big, but in cycling today we are not finding that it has a reward and helps us to continue growing as a project.

I am sad to leave the U23 category next year, where we have been present since 2014. Where we have achieved enormous success and where we have had cyclists who have reached the top, such as Juan Pedro López. But we have to guarantee the future of the structure, and it is a necessary step.

– In this quest to strengthen the recruitment of talent, are you considering any other measures?

It’s only a matter of time before we have a U17 team, I hope we achieve it in 2026. But with a recruitment format rather than a competition format.

– Is it a definitive farewell to the U23 category?

No, not at all. It’s a decision that when the situation changes, we will reconsider. If the U23 team makes sense again within our structure, we will take it up again.