New Netflix series documents Quintana and Landa tensions during Movistar's tumultuous 2019
The year ended with both riders leaving the Spanish squad
Movistar
(Picture: Photo Gomez Sport / Movistar Team)
Spain | Team website
Having been around in some guise since 1980, the Spanish super-team have seen it all, from 13 Grand Tour wins to their fair share of doping scandals.
They got off to a slow start under Movistar sponsorship in 2011, but welcomed back Alejandro Valverde from his two-year suspension and signed young GC prospect Nairo Quintana in 2012 — and they haven’t looked back since.
Moreover, they’d assembled a talented squad with riders who might be in contention for leadership in smaller teams, including the likes of Andrey Amador, as well as versatile sprinter Juan José Lobato and several time trial specialists in Jonathan Castroviejo, Adriano Malori and Britain’s Alex Dowsett.
For the 2017 season, Nairo Quintana led the squad at the Giro d’Italia, finishing second.
Having won the Giro d’Italia in 2014 at the age of 24, placing second in 2015 and third in 2016, Quintana has plenty of past form on the roads of Italy.
Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde and their Movistar teammates at the Tour de France (Sunada)
The aim for 2016 was for 2014 Giro d’Italia champion Quintana to take the next step up and win the Tour de France ahead of Chris Froome (Team Sky).
He eventually finished third behind Froome and Romain Bardet (Ag2r), but can take heart from the fact he beat the former when they met several weeks later at the final Grand Tour of the year, the Vuelta a España, his second career Grand Tour win.
Their veteran stalwart Valverde maintained his incredible consistency again in 2016, riding all three Grand Tours (taking two top-10s in the Giro and the Tour) as well as adding another victory in La Flèche Wallonne to his palmarès.
Valverde also has an excellent palmares in the one day races. He has won Liége-Bastogne-Liége four time, La Fléche Wallonne a staggering five times and taken 12 Vuelta stage wins and 4 stages at the TdF. And of course this was then rounded off by winning the World Championships in 2018.
Movistar will also look to hold on to it’s number one team spot in the UCI WorldTour rankings, a prize they have now won in four consecutive seasons.
Is had been several seasons since the Movistar team have taken the top spot of a grand tour. Many critics question their three pronged approach and somewhat curious tactics. However, in 2019 Richard Carapaz took the overall at the Giro d’Italia, the first Ecuadorian to take that title.
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Nairo Quintana says he left Movistar as he 'did not want to argue with the other leaders'
Nairo Quintana explains his Movistar exist and why he joined Arkéa-Samsic for the 2020 season
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Andrey Amador signs with Team Ineos day after leaving Movistar
Andrey Amadaor has signed with Team Ineos the day after Movistar announced he had been released from his contract.
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Andrey Amador and Movistar terminate contract amid battle to join Ineos
Andrey Amador and Movistar have agreed to terminate their contract as the rider has be fighting to leave his team for Ineos.
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Sofia Bertizzolo signs with CCC-Liv after contract with police blocked her from joining Movistar
Sofia Bertizzolo was all set to capitalise on her 2019 season next year, as she was on her way to Movistar after a string of hugely promising results.
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Under-23 rider will miss six months of his first year with Movistar after being hit by car
Danish prospect Mathias Norsgaard Jørgensen was all set for his first season at WorldTour level.
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Italian rider blocked from joining Movistar because she has a contract with national police
An Italian rider has been blocked from joining Movistar because she already has a contract with Italian police as a rider.
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Daniele Bennati retires due to back pain after 18 years as a professional
The Spaniard is climbing off for good at the age of 39
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Movistar partner with kit brand Alé after end of Endura deal
The new kit will be revealed when their 2020 squad is announced in December
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Kit brand Endura pulls out of Movistar sponsorship because of ‘UCI dead end’
Kit brand Endura have opted to end their sponsorship of Movistar because of the “developmental dead end being enforced by the UCI.”
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Richard Carapaz returns to racing following injury that scuppered Vuelta a España ride
The Ecuadorian will race the 248km Bretagne Classic-Ouest France on Sunday
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Richard Carapaz out of Vuelta a España 2019 after crash
Richard Carapaz will not race the Vuelta a España after he crashed days before the opening stage.
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Alejandro Valverde, Richard Carapaz and Nairo Quintana carry Movistar’s hopes at Vuelta a España 2019
Movistar have confirmed the trident of talent carrying their hopes at the 2019 Vuelta a España.
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Mikel Landa says there was a 'problem of overlapping objectives' at Movistar
Landa says he's excited about being the outright leader in Grand Tours at Bahrain-Merida next year
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Movistar confirm signing of Enric Mas from Deceuninck-Quick-Step
The Spaniard will be Movistar's focal point for Grand Tours in the next three years
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Wiggins-Le Col rider Gabriel Cullaigh signs for Movistar ahead of 2020 season
The Brit has signed a two-year deal with the Spanish team
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Nairo Quintana returns to take victory as Julian Alaphilippe holds yellow on stage 18 of Tour de France 2019
A revenant Nairo Quintana annihilated his rivals on the high-altitude slopes of the Galibier to take stage victory, as Julian Alaphilippe survived a shaky day to hold the yellow jersey.
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Movistar boss confirms departure of Carapaz & Quintana but says Landa future still uncertain
Eusebio Unzué says the team has made an offer to Deceuninck-Quick-Step's Enric Mas for next season
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Alejandro Valverde says Nairo Quintana didn't mention he was feeling bad before losing time on the Tourmalet
The Colombian lost more than three minutes and saw his GC ambitions crumble
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Movistar 'lucky' not to have lost more time at Tour de France, says Nairo Quintana
The Colombian says the pressure is all on Ineos
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Movistar left in shock as Mikel Landa crash sends him down Tour de France overall rankings
The Spaniard is over four minutes down overall after a disastrous day at the Tour de France
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Richard Carapaz has agreed a move to Team Ineos, according to reports
The 2019 Giro d'Italia winner has apparently signed a two-year deal with the British outfit
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‘We have to attack’: Expect aggressive riding from Mikel Landa at the Tour de France after stage six failed attempt
Mikel Landa will be looking for attacking opportunities to make up time in the 2019 Tour de France.
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Movistar looking to take advantage of 'more open Tour' without Chris Froome
The Spanish team are looking to take advantage of Chris Froome's absence
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Alejandro Valverde says he’s the thinnest he’s ever been ahead of the Tour de France
World champion says he wanted to see how his body would respond to weight loss ahead of Route d'Occitanie race last month
