Report: Betancur signs with Movistar

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Carlos Betancur has reportedly signed a contract with the Movistar team, according to a report on the French website Ouest France. Yesterday AG2R-La Mondiale announced that they had parted ways with Betancur, despite the Colombian having another year on his contract.

Cyclingnews contacted the team who refused to comment, stating that it was against their policy to comment on the rumours.

During his three-year tenure at the French outfit, Betancur has often suffered from homesickness which has resulted in him missing large parts of the European season. A switch to the Movistar team could be beneficial to him, where he can converse in his own language, and he would join three of his compatriots in Winner Anacona and the Quintana brothers Nairo and Dayer.

The 25-year-old Betancur was a promising prospect early in his career, winning the Giro dell’Emilia and the young rider’s classification at the Giro del Trentino. He joined AG2R-La Mondiale in 2013 and went on to finish fifth overall at the Giro d’Italia, taking the young rider’s jersey in the process. His last win came at the 2014 Paris-Nice, where he claimed two stage wins and the overall victory. He has not raced since the Giro d’Italia in May, spending the summer in his native Colombia.

Movistar have been quiet since the transfer window opened at the start of this month, with the signing of neo-pro Jorge Acas and the extension of Francisco Ventoso’s contract the only announcements.

They currently have a number of riders whose contracts are up for renewal. Jon and Gorka Izagirre, Beñat Intxausti, Adriano Malori, Jesus and José Herrada, Andrey Amador, Jose Joaquin Rojas, Igor Anton, Javier Moreno, Enrique Sanz and Imanol Erviti are all without a contract for next season.