José Gómez Marchante (Saunier duval-Prodir) at the sign in.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Angel Gomez Marchante and Xavier Florencio help each other out during the stage.(Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
José Ángel Gómez Marchante says he is "excited" at the prospect of riding for Professional Continental squad Andalucía-Cajasur, the Spanish rider looking for a fresh start after several frustrating years in the ProTour ranks.
Gómez Marchante showed plenty of promise during his stint with former ProTour outfit Sauner Duval-Prodir, the now-defunct team of disgraced former professional Leonardo Piepoli and the currently-suspended Italian rider Riccardo Riccó.
The 29-year-old was a star on the rise three years ago, winning the 2006 Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco before taking fifth overall in that year's Vuelta a España. Injury, team problems and a subsequent change of squad saw him experience two lean seasons.
He spent this year at the fledgling Cervélo Test Team, the Swiss squad hiring him as a domestique for countryman Carlos Sastre. A crash in this year's Tour de France saw him abandon and return at the Vuelta a España, where he finished 22nd overall in Madrid.
Gómez Marchante told Spanish sports daily Marca that he is "very comfortable" with his new team, outlining the "great atmosphere" during a recent training camp in the Cordoba province of Carlota, where the team rode two days of approximately 140km each day.
"I am excited and motivated; [during] these two days I met my new teammates and I am looking forward to next season," he said. The 2010 season will begin for Gómez Marchante with the Tour de San Luis, January 18-24, in Argentina.
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