Training camp for the U23 and U19 rosters in Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort
Again with the excellent facilities of Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort as the centre of operations, the U19 and u23 structures of the Fundación Contador face some pre-season training camps to prepare their next competitive debut. First, the U19 team, with a meeting that will begin to take place between Thursday 9 February and Sunday 12. At the same time, the U23 team, whose training camp will be held between Saturday 11 and Wednesday 15.
This training camp will allow the distribution of different materials, a more detailed distribution of the calendar of each rider and to continue deepening in the master lines of preparation and nutrition through different talks and meetings with the trainers Carlos Barredo, Beppe de Maria, Antonio Campos, Javi Cebolla and the nutritionist Nacho Carrasco. There will also be the usual specific tests and field tests on the routes of the Marina Baja and La Safor. The two Maltese talents in the U23 category, Luke Borg and Jacob Schembri, will once again take part in this stage. Several riders from the Unione Ciclistica Bustese Olonia, with which the Contador Foundation has been collaborating since the 2021 season, will also be present in Valencia.
“I’m really looking forward to the start, nobody can get used to the idea,” says Hugo Pradas, one of the riders who will join the junior squad in 2023. “It’s something I’m really looking forward to. I’ve never experienced a training camp as such. I have shared time with MTB Cadalso on some trips, but nothing comparable to this. There is a lot of desire and also some nerves and uncertainty, I’m sure it will be an unforgettable experience with the whole team, as well as the opportunity to learn”.
Asturian Pablo Uría faces his last year in the U23 category with a lot of eagerness after a 2022 conditioned by an injury that forced him to stop halfway through the season. Both he and his fellow countryman Ramón Fernández and several team-mates have individually brought forward their trip to the Iberian Levante in search of good weather conditions to train. “I am, we are all, eager to get the season underway. Personally, I hope that this season is better than the last one, that health and injuries are respected. I arrive at the training camp with a great appetite for cycling, with the desire to make the most of a few days of quality training, taking the utmost care with rest and nutrition and with the good atmosphere of all my teammates”.
The U19 squad, under the direction of Gorka Beloki, is made up of fifteen riders: Gerard Cano, Daniel Díaz, Iker Díaz, Miguel Domínguez, Balint Feldhoffer (Hungary), Samuel Flórez (Colombia), Héctor García, Mario Gómez, Pablo Leno, Iván Loaisa, Alvar Martín, Balasz Pollner (Hungary), Iván Polo, Hugo Pradas and Manuel Sanroma.
The U23 squad, led by Rafa Díaz Justo, has fifteen riders: Spaniards Ramón Fernández, Arnau Gilabert, Antonio González, Fran Muñoz, Pablo Uría, Haimar Etxeberria, Álex García and Raúl López; and Italians Gabriele Bessega, Tommaso Bessega, Luca Bagnara, Edoardo Alleva, Sebastiano Minoia, Andrea Montoli, and Gabriele Raccagni.
