2011 Movistar Team season explained

2011 Movistar Team seasonpadding=15px
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One-day victories3
Stage race overall victories3
Stage race stage victories14
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The 2011 season for began in January at the Tour de San Luis and ended in October at the Giro di Lombardia. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.

With twenty victories to their credit, the team had a reasonably successful 2011 season competitively, but the year was very tumultuous for reasons outside competition. After a successful early season, including the overall crown at the Vuelta a Castilla y León, team rider Xavier Tondó was killed in a freak accident at his home while preparing for a training ride with teammate Beñat Intxausti. Later in the season, Mauricio Soler sustained a horrific crash at the Tour de Suisse, which could easily have cost him his life as well. After more than four months in the hospital, Soler was released, but his recovery was far from complete at that time.

2011 roster

Ages as of January 1, 2011.

Riders who joined the team for the 2011 season
Rider2010 team
Jesús Herrada[1] neo-pro
Beñat Intxausti[2]
Javier Iriarte[3] ex-pro (Burgos Monumental, 2008)
Ignatas Konovalovas[4]
Carlos Oyarzun[5] Supermercados Froiz
Sergio PardillaCarmiooro NGC
Branislau Samoilau
Enrique Sanzneo-pro
Xavier Tondó[6]
Francisco Ventoso
Riders who left the team during or after the 2010 season
Rider2011 team
Juan José Cobo[7]
Arnaud Coyot[8]
Mathieu DrujonBigMat–Auber 93
Arnold Jeannesson
Alberto Losada[9]
Christophe Moreau[10] Retired
Mathieu Perget[11]
Luis León Sánchez[12]
Rigoberto Urán[13]
Alejandro Valverde[14] Suspended
Xabier Zandio

One-day races

Before the spring season and the races known as classics, the team got a win in the Vuelta a Mallorca series. After making a 40-rider selection with 15km (09miles) remaining in the Trofeo Deià, Rojas won the resulting sprint among those riders.[15]

Spring classics

The Vuelta a La Rioja was the team's first traditional one-day win. Erviti finished first ahead of two Colombian riders from a UCI Continental team, eight seconds ahead of the main field.[16]

The team also sent squads to Milan–San Remo, Gent–Wevelgem, the Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, but placed no higher than 11th in any of these races.

Fall races

The team also sent squads to the Clásica de San Sebastián, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, and the Giro di Lombardia, but placed no higher than 11th in any of these races.

Stage races

The team picked up wins in two simultaneous events at the beginning of the season. At the Tour de San Luis, new acquisition Tondó won the 19.5km (12.1miles) individual time trial, gaining a 30-second lead over 's José Serpa in the process with three days left to race.[17] In the race's penultimate stage, however, Tondó dramatically bonked and crashed on the descent of the Cerro El Amago, the day's last climb.[18] He had stayed with the race's top riders and seemed to be a 15km (09miles) descent and an easy, flat final stage away from winning the race. Instead, he lost 15 minutes on the day,[19] and finished the race in 23rd place.[20] Also in January, the squad sent to the Tour Down Under came away with another win. Ventoso won the race's queen stage in Willunga ahead of the sprinters who populated the top of the general classification standings.[21] Ventoso was the squad's top finisher in the final overall standings, in sixth place. The squad narrowly won the teams classification, beating by eight seconds.[22] Ventoso added a sprint win in February in stage 3 of the Ruta del Sol.[23] The team did not win any stage at Critérium International in March, but they did win the teams classification and have Kiryienka on the final podium in second. With strong placings in all three stages, Kiryienka also won the event's points classification.[24] Rojas won the sprint finish to stage 6 of the concurrent Volta a Catalunya, with nearly the entire peloton finishing together.[25]

Kiryienka won stage 2 at the Tour of the Basque Country with a late-race solo attack. He initially drew four others with him, but a second surge 1400m (4,600feet) from the line gave him the win two seconds ahead of the leading group on the road. It was the Belarusian's first race win since a stage in the 2008 Giro d'Italia.[26] The squad also won the team award at this event.[27] Later in April, the team had a very strong Vuelta a Castilla y León. Ventoso won the first two stages in field sprints, keying of the sprint train was trying to use to set up their sprinter Russell Downing on both days.[28] [29] The overall classification was left wide open the next day when three-time champion Alberto Contador suffered mechanical trouble on the race's only summit finish, the Laguna de los Peces, and lost two minutes. Tondó finished fifth on the stage, and was in second overall just three seconds behind new race leader Bauke Mollema.[30] Tondó was third in the race's individual time trial the next day, taking the race lead since he gained 12 seconds on Mollema.[31] The time gaps held on the final stage, meaning Tondó won the race overall. Ventoso added a second place in stage 5 to his two wins earlier to handily win the points classification, though he would have won it even if he had not scored in the final stage.[32] Neo-pro Sanz took the first win of his career at the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid in a short (84.8km (52.7miles)) road race held the same day as the prologue time trial. The young Spaniard came first in the field sprint.[33] The next day, Costa finished second on the Puerto de la Morcuera summit by 14 seconds, but this performance was enough to make him the race's overall winner. The team also won two classification awards, with Costa taking the points title and Herrada the youth classification.[34]

The team also sent squads to the Tour Méditerranéen, the Tour du Haut Var, Vuelta a Murcia, Paris–Nice, Tirreno–Adriatico, the Tour de Romandie, Vuelta a Asturias, the Circuit de Lorraine, the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Brixia Tour, the Tour de Pologne, the Eneco Tour, the Tour du Poitou-Charentes and the Tour of Beijing, but did not achieve a stage win, classification win, or podium finish in any of them.

Grand Tours

Vuelta a España

Season victories

Date Race Competition Rider Country Location
Tour de San Luis, Stage 4 UCI America TourSan Luis
Tour Down Under, Stage 5 UCI World TourWillunga
Tour Down Under, Teams classification UCI World Tour[35]
UCI Europe TourDeià
Vuelta a Andalucía, Stage 3 UCI Europe TourJaén
Volta a Catalunya, Stage 6 UCI World TourMollet del Vallès
Critérium International, Points classification UCI Europe Tour
Critérium International, Teams classification UCI Europe Tour[36]
Tour of the Basque Country, Stage 2 UCI World TourLekunberri
Tour of the Basque Country, Teams classification UCI World Tour[37]
Vuelta a Castilla y León, Stage 1 UCI Europe TourPalencia
Vuelta a Castilla y León, Stage 2 UCI Europe TourSalamanca
Vuelta a Castilla y León, Overall UCI Europe Tour
Vuelta a Castilla y León, Points classification UCI Europe Tour
UCI Europe TourLogroño
Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid, Stage 2 UCI Europe TourCoslada
Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid, Overall UCI Europe Tour
Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid, Points classification UCI Europe Tour
Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid, Young rider classification UCI Europe Tour
Giro d'Italia, Stage 6 UCI World TourFiuggi
Giro d'Italia, Stage 20 UCI World TourSestriere
Tour de Suisse, Stage 2 UCI World TourCrans-Montana
Route du Sud, Overall UCI Europe Tour
Route du Sud, Teams classification UCI Europe Tour[38]
Tour de France, Stage 8 UCI World TourSuper Besse
Vuelta a Burgos, Stage 3 UCI Europe TourTeam time trial[39]
Vuelta a España, Stage 3 UCI World TourTotana
UCI World TourMontreal

Away from competition

Mauricio Soler crash aftermath

Notes and References

  1. News: El Movistar ficha por tres temporadas a Jesús Herrada. Biciciclismo. Gurenet Teknologia S.L.. 2 October 2010. 10 December 2011. Spanish. Movistar sign Jesús Herrada for three years.
  2. News: Intxausti signs for Movistar. Barry. Ryan. Cycling News. 30 August 2010. 10 December 2011.
  3. News: Arrieta to Movistar as directeur sporti. Cycling News. 5 November 2010. 10 December 2011.
  4. News: Konovalovas and Samoilau sign with Movistar. Barry. Ryan. Cycling News. 30 August 2010. 10 December 2011.
  5. News: Movistar signs Oyarzun. Hedwig. Kröner. Cycling News. 20 December 2010. 10 December 2011.
  6. News: Transfers: Tondo to Movistar. Susan. Westemeyer. Cycling News. 29 August 2010. 10 December 2011.
  7. News: Cobo signs for Geox-TMC. Barry. Ryan. Cycling News. 17 November 2010. 10 December 2011.
  8. News: Transferts 2010-2011. French. Transfers 2010–2011. 10 December 2011. Velochrono.fr. Velochrono.
  9. News: Katusha signs three: Daniel Moreno, Alberto Losada, and Leif Hoste. Jered. Gruber. VeloNation. 23 September 2010. 10 December 2011.
  10. News: French veteran Christophe Moreau announces retirement. Ben. Atkins. VeloNation. 12 July 2010. 10 December 2011.
  11. News: AG2R, Skil-Shimano name new signings. Cycling News. 3 August 2010. 10 December 2011.
  12. News: Luis León Sánchez signs with Rabobank. 5 September 2010. 10 December 2011. Cycling News.
  13. News: Team Sky signs Dowsett, Uran and Zandio. Nigel. Wynn. 28 September 2010. 10 December 2011. Cycling Weekly. IPC Media Ltd..
  14. News: Valverde suspended for two years world-wide, keeps results. 31 May 2010. 10 December 2011. Cycling News.
  15. Web site: Cycling News. Rojas roars to victory on Mallorca. 2011-02-09. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-02-14.
  16. Web site: Cycling News. Erviti bests Suarez for Rioja win. 2011-04-24. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-04-26.
  17. Web site: Kirsten Frattini. Tondo gains race lead with TT win. 2011-01-16. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20110122104929/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-san-luis-1/stage-4/results. 2011-01-22. dead.
  18. Web site: Jered Gruber. Xavier Tondo loses Tour de San Luis in spectacular fashion. 2011-01-22. VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. 2011-01-26.
  19. Web site: Kirsten Frattini. Rubiano claims the stage as La Carolina crowns Arriagada race leader. 2011-01-22. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20110126075846/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-san-luis-1/stage-6/results. 2011-01-26. dead.
  20. Web site: Kirsten Frattini . Aguilar, Crespo give Funvic one-two on final stage . 2011-01-23 . Cycling News . Future Publishing Limited . 2011-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110125224347/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-san-luis-1/stage-7/results . 2011-01-25 . dead.
  21. Web site: Les Clarke. Ventoso takes vaunted Willunga stage. 2011-01-22. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20110125171328/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/santos-tour-down-under-upt-1/stage-5/results. 2011-01-25. dead.
  22. Web site: Les Clarke . Swift and Henderson head Sky quinella . 2011-01-23 . Cycling News . Future Publishing Limited . 2011-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121001052839/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/santos-tour-down-under-upt-1/stage-6/results . 2012-10-01 . dead.
  23. Web site: Cycling News. Ventoso takes sprint into Jaén. 2011-02-22. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-02-26.
  24. Web site: Jean-François Quénet. Schleck defends overall lead. 2011-03-27. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-03-29.
  25. Web site: Cycling News. Rojas sprints to stage win. 2011-03-26. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-03-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20110427050224/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/volta-ciclista-a-catalunya-upt-1/stage-6/results. 27 April 2011 . live.
  26. Web site: Stephen Farrand. Kiryienka escapes for solo victory. 2011-04-05. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-04-11.
  27. Web site: Cycling News. Klöden and Martin dominate closing time trial. 2011-04-09. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-04-11.
  28. Web site: Cycling News. Ventoso victorious in Palencia. 2011-04-13. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-04-18.
  29. Web site: Cycling News. Two in a row for Ventoso. 2011-04-14. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20110427050217/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/26th-vuelta-a-castilla-y-leon-2-1/stage-2/results. 27 April 2011 . live.
  30. Web site: Cycling News. Savini steals queen stage as Contador's hopes vanish. 2011-04-15. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20110427050201/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/26th-vuelta-a-castilla-y-leon-2-1/stage-3/results. 27 April 2011 . live.
  31. Web site: Cycling News. Contador best against the clock. 2011-04-16. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20110427050154/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/26th-vuelta-a-castilla-y-leon-2-1/stage-4/results. 27 April 2011 . live.
  32. Web site: Peter Hymas. Tondo wins Vuelta a Castilla y León. 2011-04-17. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20110426184952/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/26th-vuelta-a-castilla-y-leon-2-1/stage-5/results. 26 April 2011 . live.
  33. Web site: Cycling News. Sanz strikes in Coslada. 2011-05-07. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-05-11.
  34. Web site: Cycling News. Costa claims overall victory. 2011-05-08. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2011-05-11.
  35. The riders on the squad were José Joaquín Rojas, Iván Gutiérrez, David López García, Ángel Madrazo, Luis Pasamontes, José Vicente García, and Francisco Ventoso
  36. The riders on the squad were David Arroyo, Marzio Bruseghin, Iván Gutiérrez, Jesus Herrada, Vasil Kiryienka, David López García, Sergio Pardilla and Branislau Samoilau
  37. The riders on the squad were David Arroyo, Marzio Bruseghin, David López García, Beñat Intxausti, Xavier Tondó, José Vicente García, Ángel Madrazo and Vasil Kiryienka
  38. The riders on the squad were David Arroyo, Javier Iriarte, Vasil Kiryienka, Francisco Pérez, Sergio Pardilla, Luis Pasamontes and Enrique Sanz
  39. The riders on the squad were David Arroyo, José Vicente Garcia, Beñat Intxausti, David López García, Sergio Pardilla, Jesús Herrada, Pablo Lastras, and Francisco Ventoso

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