The future of Miguel Angel Lopez is far from certain after he stormed out of the Vuelta a Espana but his Movistar team have indicated that Max Kanter will join the team from Team DSM at the start of next year with Alex Aranburu and Gorka Izagirre also linking up with the Spanish squad.
Omar Fraile, however, is set to leave with the 31-year-old set to join Ineos Grenadiers. Marc Soler has already been announced as departing for UAE Team Emirates next season.
“What’s true is mostly what I’ve seen on the internet with Alex Aranburu and Gorka Izagirre both coming,” Movistar team director Max Sciandri told Cyclingnews at the Tour of Britain.
“There’s a young kid here, Max Kanter, who I think is coming and that’s more or less all I can tell you. I’ve been in Poland and we just do weekly calls in the team. Soler is going and then with guys who don’t have a contract there’s Cataldo, Gabriel Cullaigh and Davide Villella. I don’t know yet if they will be renewed.”
The situation around Lopez is far from clear after he quit the Vuelta a Espana just a day from the race’s finish.
His falling out with the team could end with his contract being terminated and a return to Astana has already been rumoured and reported in Spain and Italy.
Sciandri was unsure of Lopez’s future but admitted that everyone involved was disappointed with how the Vuelta had unfolded. Lopez currently has two more years on his Movistar deal having only joined the team at the start of the year. He was sitting third overall in the Spanish Grand Tour when he quit.
“That’s really going to be decided in the next few days. I think that he has a contract but that’s all I know. Deep down it’s down to Eusebio Unzue and what he wants to do, rather than what I think. That’s all that I can say,” Sciandri said.
“Everyone is super disappointed. We all know that this is a stress game and that everyone is on the limit. You can grab a bike and smash it and that’s wrong. I’ve seen riders do it and I’ve done it too, but to walk out in that situation after 20 days, that’s throwing away a lot after a lot of effort for him and the guys. You can sit up and lose, and he could have still been fifth overall. I can’t remember seeing anyone pull out like that before.”
