Alex Aranburu will ride for Movistar in 2022 after signing a three-year contract with the team. The fast-finishing Basque arrives from Astana, where he spent the past two seasons.
“I'm so happy to confirm I'll be a member of the Movistar Team, our home WorldTour squad, for the next three years,” Aranburu said in a statement released by his new team on Wednesday.
“I already know many members of the team and I'm sure the atmosphere within the team is going to be great. I'm coming into this team with great excitement, willing to grow both as a rider and as a person. Hopefully I can continue improving bit by bit every year, just like up to this point, so we can achieve good success together.”
The 26-year-old turned professional with Euskadi-Murias in 2016 and then spent three seasons at Caja Rural before moving to the WorldTour with Astana ahead of the 2020 campaign.
A versatile puncheur, Aranburu caught the eye throughout his tenure at Astana. He won stage 2 of Itzulia Basque Country in Sestao earlier this season, and he enjoyed a solid Classics campaign that included sixth-place at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and seventh at Milan-San Remo.
After making his Tour de France debut this summer, Aranburu came close to taking the red jersey in the opening time trial of the Vuelta a España, denied only by Primož Roglič. He was forced out of the race by a crash in the second week but he returned to take third place at the Memorial Marco Pantani.
Aranburu is Movistar’s third confirmed signing for 2022 following the arrival of Max Kanter from Team DSM and Óscar Rodríguez from Astana.
Movistar recently announced that Miguel Ángel López will leave the team by mutual consent on October 1 following his sudden abandon on the penultimate day of the Vuelta.
The Colombian is expected to return to Astana, whose roster is set to undergo a significant overhaul in 2022. The Kazakhstani team has already confirmed the return of Vincenzo Nibali, with Gianni Moscon and David de la Cruz also linked with a move to the team.
It is expected that Jakob Fuglsang and Hugo Houle will depart the team together with current sub-sponsor Premier Tech.
