Pino wants Vuelta wild-card

By Antonio J. Salmerón

Karpin-Galicia director, Alvaro Pino, made a satisfactory assessment of the first three months of his Spanish professional squad.

"I must emphasize the fighting attitude of all the riders. In this sense, we always have maximum aspirations of success, but there are also many other rivals who want the same thing," said Pino.

"In the Challenge de Mallorca, Ezequiel Mosquera led at times and finished third overall," Pino summarized. "He is an extraordinary rider. Mosquera has consistency. In fact, I requested of him that he prepare for the early season, but where he really surprised me was in the recent Vuelta al Pais Vasco. He had a strong performance. He always was fighting among the best racers. I think he only needs to improve his time trial stages".

The Karpin Galicia director mentioned that other riders, such as Gustavo Domínguez, David Garcia, and even Vorganov, arrived short of form, but still "did good things." But not all things were good for the team. "Eladio Jiménez was injured in the Challenge de Mallorca, and since then he has been out of competition along with David García, who broke his clavicle, and David Herrero, who has a fissured vertebra."

On the other hand, Pino believes Karpin-Galicia can still improve and will "reach all its potential going forward, because its theoretical leaders Marcos Serrano, Isidro Nozal, and Santos González are getting their peak form." Pino did not include David Herrero because poor health has been keeping him from regular competition.

The team looks forward to the Vuelta a Asturias, the Clásica de Alcobendas, and the Volta a Catalunya in May and considers itself hopeful for a wild card entry into the Vuelta.