Euskaltel–Euskadi () was a professional road bicycle racing team from Spain, Europe. The team was commercially sponsored, but was also partly funded by the Basque Government until the end of 2013, with riders either from the Basque Country, Navarre, La Rioja, and the French Basque Country, or who had grown up in the cycling culture of those regions:http://www.fundacioneuskadi.com/pag/ca_fundacion_creacion.asp?cod=1&ocultar=1&ocultarp=1 Foundation as described on the website of the FEC This policy was abandoned to enable retention of World Tour status. Its sponsor was Euskaltel, a Basque telecom company. Euskaltel–Euskadi was famous for its all-orange team kits. Whenever the Tour de France passed through the Basque Country many spectators lined the route dressed in the team's orange or the colours of the Basque flag. The Euskaltel team also has a second team inside the "Fundacion Euskadi", this team rode in a continental category, the name of the team was Orbea. This team was created with the aim of forming the young cyclist before going to the Euskaltel–Euskadi.
History
Following the creation of the Euskadi Cycling Foundation (June 1993), Euskadi was established in 1994 (as Euskadi-Petronor), and has been recognizable among the peloton for their bright orange kit (which developed later in the team's history). After a financially turbulent first few seasons, in which the team was on the brink of folding multiple times, they secured their long term and most successful sponsor Euskaltel. By 1999, with Roberto Laiseka winning the team's first Grand Tour stage win this investment had paid off. In 2001 they were invited to the Tour de France and achieved another victory for Laiseka in the Pyrénées.
After a 2003 Tour de France breakthrough success during which both Iban Mayo and Haimar Zubeldia finished in the top-10 of the general classification, with Mayo winning the prized Alpe d'Huez stage. Euskaltel–Euskadi was considered to be a strong contender for the 2004 Tour de France as well. Iban Mayo's commanding victory in the 2004 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré stage race (traditionally seen as one of the tests for Tour de France contenders), including defeating Lance Armstrong in the Mont Ventoux hill climb individual time trial stage, further fueled the hype. Unfortunately, Mayo was injured in a crash on a pavé section of an early stage of the Tour de France, and abandoned in the first Pyrénées stage. Zubeldia also failed to deliver in the 2004 Tour de France, to the chagrin of Basque fans lining the road. "I wish that our uniform was not so easy to spot," admitted directeur sportif Julián Gorospe.
In the 2005 season the team recruited Aitor González, who won the Tour de Suisse. They again failed to make an impression in the 2005 Tour de France. In 2006 the sporting director Julián Gorospe was replaced by Igor González de Galdeano, who became technical secretary. Euskaltel–Euskadi ranked 13th in the UCI World Tour rankings among 18 teams, but only the top 15 teams automatically qualify for the World Tour for the following year (source?). The other teams qualify based on a variety of criteria, including team points and a dedication to clean racing, but the most important are points earned by individual riders.
Under points pressure, Euskaltel confirmed in 2012 that it would break with its long-standing policy of signing a majority of Basque riders and would employ riders of other countries to assure its UCI World Tour standing. This has had knock on effects for the makeup of other traditionally Basque teams such as Orbea and Caja Rural. For example, in the 2013 season Euskaltel's Amets Txurruka and Iván Velasco moved to .
The withdrawal of sponsorship via government funds prompted the team to announce it would be unable to continue after the 2013 season. In September 2013 Formula One racing driver Fernando Alonso expressed a wish to ensure the team's survival by buying their UCI World Tour license but reached no agreement with the team.
In 2018 Mikel Landa, the President of the Euskadi Cycling Foundation, established Team Fundación Euskadi on the Continental tour. In 2020, Euskaltel revived its sponsorship, thereby rebranding the team with the name of its predecessor, Euskaltel-Euskadi.
Final team roster
Major wins
1995 Stages 4 & 8 Volta ao Algarve, Asier Guenetxea
1996 Memorial Manuel Galera, Iñaki Ayarzagüena Txitxarro Igoera, Iñaki Ayarzagüena Stage 4 Vuelta a Asturias, Álvaro González de Galdeano Time Trial Championship, Iñigo González de Heredia
1997 Stage 4 Vuelta a los Valles Mineros, Igor González de Galdeano
1998 Stage 8 Tour de l'Avenir, Txema Del Olmo Zendegi Stages 7 & 12 Volta a Portugal, Unai Etxebarria Clásica de Sabiñánigo, Igor González de Galdeano Stage 5 Volta a Galicia, Igor González de Galdeano
1999 Stage 1 GP Mitsubishi, Aitor Silloniz Stage 4 GP Jornal de Noticias, José Alberto Martínez Stage 1 GP du Midi-Libre, José Alberto Martínez Stage 18 Vuelta a España, Roberto Laiseka
2000 Overall, GP Jornal de Noticias, Mikel Artetxe Guezuraga Stages 1 & 4 GP Jornal de Noticias, Mikel Artetxe Guezuraga Klasika Primavera, Unai Etxebarria Overall Tour de l'Avenir, Iker Flores Stage 8, Aitor Kintana Stage 9, Iker Flores Prologue Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Alberto Lopez de Munain Ruiz de Gauna Stage 1 Vuelta a Asturias, Alberto Lopez de Munain Ruiz de Gauna Stage 1 Vuelta a Burgos, José Alberto Martínez Overall Euskal Bizikleta, Haimar Zubeldia Stage 4b, Haimar Zubeldia
2001 Stage 5 Vuelta a Andalucía, Mikel Artetxe Stage 3 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, David Etxebarria Stage 3 Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme, Aitor Silloniz Stage 4 Tour of the Basque Country, Angel Castresana Stage 4 Vuelta a La Rioja, Igor Flores Stage 5 Vuelta a Asturias, Alberto López de Munain Overall GP du Midi-Libre, Iban Mayo Classique des Alpes, Iban Mayo Stage 3 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Unai Etxebarria Stage 6 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iban Mayo Stage 14 Tour de France, Roberto Laiseka
2002 Trofeo Manacor, Igor Flores Overall Critérium International, José Alberto Martínez Stages 5a & 5b Tour of the Basque Country, David Etxebarria Stage 1 Vuelta a Castilla y León, David Herrero Stage 4a Euskal Bizikleta, David Etxebarria Stage 5 Troféu Joaquim Agostinho, Mikel Artetxe Stage 7 Tour de l'Avenir, Aitor Silloniz
2003 Overall Tour of the Basque Country, Iban Mayo Stages 1, 5a & 5b Iban Mayo Stage 1 Vuelta a La Rioja, David Herrero Stage 1 Euskal Bizikleta, David Etxebarria Prologue & Stage 4 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iban Mayo Stage 1 Troféu Joaquim Agostinho, Lander Euba Stage 8 Tour de France, Iban Mayo Stage 5 Vuelta a Burgos, Gorka González Overall Tour de l'Avenir, Egoi Martínez
2004 Trofeo Calvià, Unai Etxebarria Overall Clásica de Alcobendas, Iban Mayo Stages 1 & 2, Iban Mayo Subida al Naranco, Iban Mayo GP Llodio, Unai Etxebarria Overall Vuelta a Asturias, Iban Mayo Stage 5 Euskal Bizikleta, Roberto Laiseka Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iban Mayo Prologue & Stage 4, Iban Mayo
2005 Stage 2 Clásica de Alcobendas, David Herrero GP Llodio, David Herrero Stage 4b Euskal Bizikleta, David Herrero Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iñigo Landaluze Overall Tour de Suisse, Aitor González Stage 9, Aitor González Stage 5 Vuelta a Burgos, David Herrero Stage 11 Vuelta a España, Roberto Laiseka Stage 13 Vuelta a España, Samuel Sánchez Escalada a Montjuïc, Samuel Sánchez
2006 Stages 2 & 3 Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez Stage 5 Euskal Bizikleta, David Herrero Stage 6 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Iban Mayo Stage 3 Vuelta a Asturias, Samuel Sánchez Overall Vuelta a Burgos, Iban Mayo Stage 4, Iban Mayo Subida a Urkiola, Iban Mayo Stage 13 Vuelta a España, Samuel Sánchez Stage 16 Vuelta a España, Igor Antón Züri-Metzgete, Samuel Sánchez Escalada a Montjuïc, Igor Antón
2007 Trofeo Calvià, Unai Etxebarria Stage 7 Tirreno–Adriatico, Koldo Fernández Stage 6 Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez Stage 4 Tour de Romandie, Igor Antón Stage 7 Volta a Catalunya, Samuel Sánchez Stages 15, 19 & 20 Vuelta a España, Samuel Sánchez
2008 Stage 5 Vuelta a Murcia, Koldo Fernández Stage 5 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Koldo Fernández Stage 2b Vuelta a Asturias, Samuel Sánchez Stage 2 Euskal Bizikleta, Koldo Fernández Stage 2 Tour de Suisse, Igor Antón Stage 3 Vuelta a Burgos, Koldo Fernández Tour de Vendée, Koldo Fernández
2009 Stage 2 Volta ao Algarve, Koldo Fernández GP Llodio, Samuel Sánchez Circuito de Getxo, Koldo Fernández Subida a Urkiola, Igor Antón Stage 1 Vuelta a Burgos, Koldo Fernández
2010 Stage 4 Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez Klasika Primavera, Samuel Sánchez Stage 3 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Igor Antón Stage 1 Vuelta a Asturias, Pablo Urtasun Stage 3b Vuelta a Asturias, Beñat Intxausti Stage 5 Tour de Romandie, Igor Antón Stage 1 Bayern Rundfahrt, Rubén Pérez Stage 4 Tour de Luxembourg, Gorka Izagirre Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia, Gorka Izagirre Overall Vuelta a Burgos, Samuel Sánchez Stage 1, Koldo Fernández Stages 2 & 5, Samuel Sánchez Stages 4 & 11 Vuelta a España, Igor Antón Stage 16 Vuelta a España, Mikel Nieve Tour de Vendée, Koldo Fernández
2011 GP Miguel Induráin, Samuel Sánchez Stage 4 Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez Prologue Tour de Romandie, Jonathan Castroviejo Stage 1 Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid, Jonathan Castroviejo Stage 14 Giro d'Italia, Igor Antón Stage 15 Giro d'Italia, Mikel Nieve Stage 12 Tour de France, Samuel Sánchez Stage 1 Vuelta a Burgos, Samuel Sánchez Stage 5 Vuelta a Burgos, Mikel Landa Stage 19 Vuelta a España, Igor Antón
2012 Stage 6 Volta a Catalunya, Samuel Sánchez Overall Tour of the Basque Country, Samuel Sánchez Stages 3 & 6 (ITT), Samuel Sánchez Stage 2b (ITT) Vuelta a Asturias, Jon Izagirre Stage 16 Giro d'Italia, Jon Izagirre Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia, Gorka Izagirre Stage 7 Tour of Britain, Pablo Urtasun
2013 Stage 1 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Pablo Urtasun Stage 2 Vuelta a Castilla y León, Juan José Lobato Stage 7 Critérium du Dauphiné, Samuel Sánchez Time Trial Championships, Ioannis Tamouridis Road Race Championships, Ioannis Tamouridis Circuito de Getxo, Juan José Lobato
See also List of cycling teams in Spain Orbea (cycling team)
Athletic Bilbao, football club with a similar Basque player hiring policy
References
External links
UCI Team profile