Bahrain sign Izagirre

Manama : Ion Izagirre had a year left on his contract at Movistar, but has been looking to orchestrate a move away. It appears that his 270 WorldTour points were a key factor in the move, with the nascent Bahrain-Merida team keen to sweep up successful riders and their points in a bid to secure WorldTour status in its debut year. 

“From the day one,  I found out that they were interested in me, and seeing that the team was gaining strength, I started to like the idea of belonging to this club more and more,” said Izagirre in a statement.

“It is a great challenge for me and I am looking forward to work with my new partners to achieve new goals.”

Izaguirre, 27, turned pro with the Basque Euskaltel-Euskadi squad in 2011 and joined Movistar in 2014, where he has gone from strength to strength. 

However the leadership role has been struggling due to the presence of Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde. 

After becoming Spanish road race champion in 2014, he won the Tour de Pologne last year and made a stride forward in week-long stage races. 

He has finished no lower than eighth in the six such races he’s done this year, including second at the Tour de Suisse, third at the Tour de Romandie, and fifth at Paris-Nice – all WorldTour races.

He also became Spanish time trial champion and won the penultimate stage of the Tour de France, attacking on the descent of the Col de Joux Plane to take victory in Morzine.

“Having Izagirre on the team is a very exciting sign for us. It gives a boost to our group of riders for the GC in Grand Tours. He is a complete rider who can win both one day races as well as the general classification of tours, thanks to his very good time trailing ability and climbing skills.” said Bahrain-Merida’s general manager Brent Copeland.