Hugh Carthy to ride for Caja Rural-RGA
Twenty-year-old British rider Hugh Carthy signs two-year deal with Spanish outfit Caja Rural
Britain's Hugh Carthy will ride the next two seasons, 2015 and 2016, with Spain's second division team Caja Rural-RGA. According to website Bici Ciclismo, the Rapha Condor JLT cyclist signed a contract at the Circuito de Getxo on July 31.
The 20-year-old Englishman from Fulwood, Lancashire, won the Tour of Korea this year racing for British third division team, Rapha Condor JLT.
Carthy rode for Rapha Condor the last two seasons. In 2013, he had his first taste of international racing and helped Mike Cuming win the overall of the Tour of Korea. He began 2014 with bang, though he didn't win the Tour of Japan, he finished second on the mountain stages to Fuji and Izu, sixth in the overall classification, and first in the young rider and mountains classifications. On Sunday, he finished the USA Pro Challenge stage race in Colorado.
He will become the first Brit to ride for the team that began in its current form in 2010. He could also have his shot at racing a Grand Tour as early as 2015 as the team regularly is invited to its home race, the Vuelta a España. The team in green is one of four racing the 2014 Vuelta, which began on Saturday, on a wildcard ticket.
Caja Rural already re-signed Pello Bilbao and gave contracts to neo-professionals Fernando Grijalba and Antonio Molina for 2015. It also has Francesco Lasca, David Arroyo and Heiner Parra on existing contracts. Luis León Sánchez will leave for Astana and Rubén Fernández for Movistar.
Hugh Carthy wins Tour of Korea
Rapha Condor JLT repeat overall win of last year in Korean stage race
Tejay van Garderen wins USA Pro Challenge
Tejay van Garderen defends USA Pro Challenge title as Alex Howes takes final stage in Denver
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Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.