...but without 14 riders and 2 technicians
By Antonio J. Salmerón
The names of the 14 riders and two technicians who have been affected by the early withdrawal of 3 Molinos Resort Murcia Turística as a team sponsor have been revealed now. According to El Faro de Murcia, the riders are Jose Antonio Baños, Julio Bravo, Alexis Rodriguez, Jordi Riera, Sergio Dominguez, Ruben Lorca, Pedro Luis Castillo, Jose Cano, Mario Box Quinto, Isidro Cerrato, Rafael Casero, Francisco Pellicer and Pedro Martinez. They held a meeting with the sponsor on Friday to discuss their situation, which has deprived them of an additional year with the team, as they all had contracts running until the end of 2007. Only Jan Hruska, Santos González, Jorge Ferrío, Mikel Artetxe, Toni Tauler, Alberto Benito, Jesus del Nero and Jesus Buendia have deals for just this season, and will therefore not be affected.
But in the latest twist, 3 Molinos Resort has announced that, "there exists the firm intention of continuing indefinitely, but it is necessary to trim the team and the budget, without compromising on quality."
At the moment, the 3 Molinos Resort will take part in the Vuelta a Burgos with Jan Hruska, Jorge Ferrío, Mikel Artetxe, Jesús del Nero, Alexis Rodríguez, Eloy Teruel, Rafael Casero and Julio Bravo.
