Miguel Indurain praises the 'resurrection' of Movistar Team: "They haven't done it on the basis of money, unlike other teams"

For the first time in a long time, Movistar Team faces a season without worrying about relegation. The Spanish team heads into 2025, the last year of the three-year UCI World Tour period, seemingly safe from danger.

Two years ago that was practically unthinkable. But after a 2024 in which their hard work paid off, scoring many UCI points in the Grand Tours, Movistar will be able to race without pressure in the new season. For this, the Spanish team has won the praise of one of the nation's most iconic cycling figures, Miguel Indurain. In an interview with Marca, the Spanish cycling legend talked about the 'resurrection' of Movistar Team, among other issues. The 5-time Tour de France winner praised the team's management, bearing in mind that it has nowhere near the economic power of the World Tour giants.

"Last year or two years ago they had a difficult time with the change of generation, but it seems that they are regaining their essence," Induráin began. Movistar Team narrowly escaped relegation in 2022, and in the following three years things didn't start well at all. "They didn't (do it) on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis like other teams, but they are defining their structure. And they have to take advantage of what they have. In the market it's complicated to get winning riders, so they have to fight harder. But they maintain the essence of the team."

The latter is key point, as Movistar Team has lost a lot of Spanish talent in recent years. Riders like Juan Ayuso, Carlos Rodríguez, Markel Beloki, Pablo Torres, Héctor Álvarez..., could have been part of their ranks if they had had a development team.

For that reason, confirmed by Eusebio Unzué himself, Movistar is already working on the creation of that subsidiary that will end the bleeding of "talent drain". The plan is for the development team to be created for the 2026 season.