Movistar "can’t fight with the budget of other teams" - Alejandro Valverde knows it's impossible to keep top talents against likes of UAE and Visma

Movistar is a team with plenty history but over the years it's budget has not increased in the same way as rival teams. A decade ago it had leaders such as Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde fighting for and winning Grand Tours, monuments and even World Championships. Currently, it's brightest talents are snatched by rival teams who have a budget at least twice as big.

This isn't to say there were issues with the team, for example Matteo Jorgenson who had been paying for his own training camps whilst with the Spanish outfit. This year with Visma he exponentially improved his performances, the Spanish team wasn't able to keep him. “With Jorgenson, I don’t think he could have had a better team to make that jump and to improve. He grew a lot with the team and you have to respect that he left," Valverde told Rouleur.

Now most notably, it's new classics star Oier Lazkano followed the same path, signed by Red Bull - BORA - hangrohe who grabbed leaders from several teams all at once. "With Lazkano it’s the same: he grew here, and now he makes the step. We can’t fight with the budget of other teams," Valverde admits. "It’s clear that we have UAE, Visma and Ineos who are dominant, but this year Movistar have had riders who’ve done well also. There are young riders who’ve grown and next year they’ll make another step.”

The Spanish team keeps Enric Mas as it's leader and a few climbers as fellow leaders for other races. The team has Fernando Gaviria and new signing Orluis Aular as sprinters whilst the classics team is left lacking a leader again after the departure of Lazkano. All of the team's leaders are once again coming from Spain or Spanish-speaking nations, riders who have a preference for this environment, but it did manage to pull off a significant signing in Pablo Castrillo who looked set to join INEOS Grenadiers earlier in the year, but captured a lot of attention after winning two stages at the Vuelta a España.

“What he did in this year’s Vuelta was really good," Valverde said of Castrillo. "He was always at the front and is a rider with a big future. But personally I don’t know where they’ll place him for Grand Tours and one-week stage races. He’s going to achieve big things, but I don’t want to state what exactly: stages or GC.”