Annemiek van Vleuten close to Movistar transfer, according to reports
The world champion is out of contract with Mitchelton-Scott at the end of the season
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.
But the future is uncertain for Movistar, after Mikel Landa and Nairo Quintana both left the team at the end of 2019, along with Richard Carapaz and Andrey Amador, leaving Valverde as the only star rider on the squad for 2020.
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Italian rider blocked from joining Movistar because she has a contract with national police
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Daniele Bennati retires due to back pain after 18 years as a professional
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Movistar partner with kit brand Alé after end of Endura deal
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Kit brand Endura pulls out of Movistar sponsorship because of ‘UCI dead end’
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Richard Carapaz returns to racing following injury that scuppered Vuelta a España ride
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Richard Carapaz out of Vuelta a España 2019 after crash
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Mikel Landa says there was a 'problem of overlapping objectives' at Movistar
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Wiggins-Le Col rider Gabriel Cullaigh signs for Movistar ahead of 2020 season
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Nairo Quintana returns to take victory as Julian Alaphilippe holds yellow on stage 18 of Tour de France 2019
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Movistar boss confirms departure of Carapaz & Quintana but says Landa future still uncertain
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