Valverde, Quintana, Garcia and Eider take centre stage
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Movistar presented their men's and women's teams at the Telefónica headquarters in Madrid on Tuesday. Centre stage were world champion Alejandro Valverde, Grand Tour leader Nairo Quintana and Spanish national champions Mavi García and Eider Merino.
There were 37 riders in total, combined men's and women's squads, under coordination from general manager Eusebio Unzué, who outlined the team plans for the upcoming season.
On the men's side, Unzué revealed that his three Grand Tour riders, Quintana, Valverde and Mikel Landa, would target two Grand Tour's each in 2019. Quintana is set to focus on the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. Valverde will race the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. Landa will return to the Giro and then compete in the Vuelta at the end of the season.
Movistar launched the women's program this year had a successful inaugural season on the Women's WorldTour. The team hired back all of their Spanish riders and will showcase a team of 12 riders in 2019. The team is managed by Sebastián Unzué and Jorge Sanz.
They took 15 victories this year, including five national championships and international overall podiums in France and Belgium. The team are ranked among the top 15 in the world ranking, which will help them earn spots on the start lines at the Women’s WorldTour races.
Women's Team: Aude Biannic (FRA), Roxane Fournier (FRA), Mavi García, Alicia González, Sheyla Gutiérrez, Malgorzata Jasinska (POL), Lorena Llamas, Eider Merino, Lourdes Oyarbide, Paula Patiño (COL), Gloria Rodríguez, Alba Teruel.
Sports Director: Jorge Sanz.
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Men's Team: Andrey Amador (CRC), Winner Anacona (COL), Jorge Arcas, Carlos Barbero, Daniele Bennati (ITA), Carlos Betancur (COL), Richard Carapaz (ECU), Héctor Carretero, Jaime Castrillo, Imanol Erviti, Rubén Fernández, Mikel Landa, Lluís Mas, Nelson Oliveira (POR), Antonio Pedrero, Edu Prades, Nairo Quintana (COL), Jürgen Roelandts (BEL), José Joaquín Rojas, Eduardo Sepúlveda (ARG), Marc Soler, Jasha Sütterlin (GER), Rafa Valls, Alejandro Valverde, Carlos Verona.
Sports Directors: José Luis Arrieta, Chente García Acosta, José Luis Jaimerena, Pablo Lastras, Maximilian Sciandri (ITA).