Rojas to Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears

By Antonio J. Salmerón

The promising young Spanish rider José Joaquín Rojas, formerly of Manuel Saiz' Astaná team, has successfully landed a ProTour team contract for 2007. Rojas has reached an agreement with the Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears team after negotiating with two other teams, T-Mobile and the Marc Bivers Astana team, but has finally decided to go with the Spanish squad.

Rojas will finish his actual contractual agreement with Active Bay the 31st of December. His team-mate and countryman Luis León Sánchez is also reportedly close to signing with Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, but, at the moment, this is not confirmed. Rojas said he is "very satisfied" with his decision "because I preferred a Spanish squad for many reasons, such as the language." Rojas also was lured by the presence of his countrymen and friends Alejandro Valverde and Francisco Pérez.