Movistar team leader set to strengthen Arkea - B&B Hotels on a three-year deal

Alex Aranburu missed most of the spring campaign in 2024 due to collarbone fracture suffered at Trofeo Pollença - Port d'Andratx. But that didn't stop the versatile Spaniard for too long. His return at Itzulia Basque Country with third and twice fifth in a stage was not far from impressive.

The 28-year-old is currently in his third year with Movistar. He joined the Spanish WorldTeam in 2022 after two years in Astana Qazaqstan. And it now seems like a new adventure awaits at Arkéa - B&B Hotels. According to Diaro de Navarra, Aranburu has signed a three-year contract with the French formation. Additionally, Basque's teammate Sergio Samitier may be making the same move it appears.

Aranburu scored quite a few UCI points for Movistar last year: 1584. Only Matteo Jorgenson, who joined Visma | Lease a Bike ahead of this year, did better. This season, Aranburu also belongs among the better scorers of his team with 568 UCI points scored despite a two-month racing break.

Kicking off the season hot at Gran Premio Castellón with a third place and 4th at Trofeo Calvia, it seemed like things were lined out perfectly for Aranburu, but Trofeo Pollenca stopped him for a while. All the more impressive was his return at his home Itzulia, followed by strong Liege-Bastogne-Liege and decent Tour de Romandie. Last race in Aranburu's season so far is Eschborn-Frankfurt where the fast rider lost only to Maxim Van Gils in a reduced sprint.

Next up for Aranburu are the National Championships in mid-June. In his initial plans, he also made a special place for Tour de France in his schedule, but with the rumours of his move out of Movistar, there are opinions he won't make the final lineup. The phone company is not known to handle 'break-ups' very well and removing riders from nominations for big races is one of their common tactics.