The U23 concludes a productive pre-season training camp in Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort

With a five-hour session on the bike this Tuesday, the U23 structure of the Contador Foundation, another campaign under the name EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team, has been developing since last Thursday in the residential complex of Las Dunas de Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort, with prominence for the roads of La Safor and Marina Alta.

They have been very productive days, where all the riders have worked in an optimal way, without any mishap of health, crashes or other incidents. Collectively, the foundations have been laid, very well defined, and on these foundations the boys can continue with their individual work, always under the supervision of the coachs Carlos Barredo, Giuseppe de Maria and Antonio Campos. The riders and staff will return to different destinations this Wednesday. One of these stops is in Pinto (Madrid), a stopover before the imminent competitive debut of the season. That debut will come this weekend, in the Memorial Manolo Sanroma in Almagro, with a line-up that will be announced shortly.

One of the riders initially foreseen for the ‘seven’ that the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team will present in the roads of Ciudad Real is the Catalan Fran Muñoz. The rider from Mataró, one of the incorporations for this season, values this stage very satisfactorily. “The summary is that everything has gone ‘super well’. We have had good weather, we have enjoyed good routes… We are a very good group in everything, both on a sporting level and in terms of the human collective with assistants, mechanics and others. We are united, there is good communication. We’ve had a lot of fun”.

Antonio González, from Soria, who is promoted from the U19 team of the Contador Foundation and is facing his first year in the U23 category, agrees with him: “In the end, the training camp we do in December is always more out of season, it’s different. Now, on the other hand, we are managing the final preparations before the races. The truth is that everything has gone great. Here in Oliva Nova, as they say, we are as we want to be. They are very intense days that are very good for making a lot of group among the teammates. And that’s something you can see in the races. What I would highlight the most is that everything has been very good, a great atmosphere among the runners and the staff. We have an unbeatable atmosphere in this team”.

Italian Edoardo Alleva is also making the jump to the next category, with a competitive debut scheduled for the Trofeo Polese, at the beginning of March: “As a team we are a really beautiful team. We are confident both as a team and as individuals. All the team-mates are the same: we can’t wait to start the season. For me personally, it’s an important step forward. So to speak, we are entering a new world. You have to see it in the races, which is the only stage where you can really see the jump and the change of category, but I think I’m ready.

“Enjoying the hard work”, says Asturian climber Ramón Fernández in summary. “We’ve had a few days of very, very good work. Working in weather like this is priceless”. For Davide Piganzoli, one of the veterans of the U23 squad of the Contador Foundation, the 2022 squad increases its level. “I think the group is very, very good. It has a very high level and I would especially highlight that there is an impressive degree of unity. This is always good for the team and for the development of the season. The training camp has developed very well. Personally, I love this area, I love the weather and I’m very happy with the way these days have gone.

Andrea Pietrobon, the veteran of the squad, but also a newcomer, jokes about his calls to his family. “From home they send me pictures of the snow there, while here we train in the best conditions, with warmer weather. Of course being here is a beautiful opportunity, it gives me a feeling of happiness to be able to enjoy it. The races are here, right now, and the good work we are doing is going to show, for sure”.