NUR-SULTAN – Astana Pro Team rider Gorka Izagirre won the Basque Country Cyclocross Championship Dec. 29, reported prosports.kz. The top finish complimented his two previous wins in the last six weeks.
Photo credit: prosports.kz.
Izagirre, a native of Spain, took first place Nov. 24 in the CX Garai Bizkaia Championships in Basque Country, overtaking his younger brother, Ion, by 44 seconds. Jonathan Lastra, from UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) Professional Continental team Caja Rural–Seguros RGA, came in third.
Astana Pro Team member Omar Freilé finished sixth. Luis Leon Sanchez was declared for the race, but did not participate.
Izagirre also won the Dec. 2 Abadiñoko Udala Saria in Spain. Ismael Esteban, who finished 25 seconds after the leader, took second and Kevin Suarez, who arrived 19 seconds later, took third.
Izagirre’s most recent win was in his birthplace. The brothers joined Astana Pro Team in 2019 and have already brought it victories. The Spain championship will take place Jan. 10-12.
Astana Pro Team, officially UCI World Team Astana (the term used to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling) was formed in 2006 after the dissolution of Liberty Seguros-Würth team. Alexandr Vinokurov (known to fans as Vino), a former professional road bicycle racer and currently the team’s general manager, received assistance from First President Nursultan Nazarbayev to create the new team.
Astana Pro Team will enter its 15th season in 2020. In the past 14 seasons, it has achieved 37 wins and is ranked fifth in the world. The team presented its 28 official members for the upcoming season on Dec. 14.
“Today, we are starting our 15th season. We have gone a long way so far and we have achieved many big goals, but I am sure that many great and amazing things are still lying further ahead. We are starting the new season completely ready and highly motivated for something more. I would like to congratulate Astana Pro Team on the very beautiful and successful season we had in 2019 and I’d like to wish the guys to reach even bigger successes in the upcoming year,” said Vinokurov.
