Movistar Team must renew Pelayo Sanchez now to avoid another case like Lazkano or Jorgenson

The Giro d'Italia 2024 was a litmus test for a Movistar Team that was in a very delicate situation in the UCI Ranking. However, the telephone team managed to complete a very remarkable Corsa Rosa, getting a lot of points thanks to its four main riders: Einer Rubio, Nairo Quintana, Pelayo Sanchez and Fernando Gaviria.

Pelayo was also the only rider to win a stage victory in the Giro. The Asturian lifted all the Spanish fans with an epic win on the gravel day against Julian Alaphilippe and Luke Plapp, demonstrating enormous talent and a great performance in his first grand tour with Movistar. That's why, according to our CicilismoAlDía colleague Jorge P Borreguero, the Spanish team should learn from what happened, first in winter with the departure of Matteo Jorgenson to Visma | Lease a Bike, and later during the Giro with the departure of Oier Lazkano to BORA - hansgrohe (at the end of 2024).

Movistar Team suffered the loss of Jorgenson and Lazkano because both were at the end of their contracts and, demonstrating great potential at World Tour level, both Visma and BORA took advantage of their greater economic power than the telephone team to take both riders.

Nobody says that Pelayo Sanchez has the level of Matteo Jorgenson or Oier Lazkano right now, but it is not excluded that he can achieve it, given his great potential. Would it be a bet by Movistar Team to renew him now and not wait until 2025, which is when the Asturian's contract ends? Yes, would it be too risky? No. Pelayo is only 24 years old, and Movistar can't afford another departure with the same impact as Jorgenson and Lazkano.

To convince themselves that the way forward is to renew Pelayo Sanchez now, and thus avoid a possible new case like the two already mentioned, Movistar Team only has to look at what Matteo Jorgenson has already achieved with Visma | Lease a Bike in his first months with the Dutch team.

The American scored the biggest win of his career by taking the overall classification at Paris-Nice. Later, motivated by that high-profile win and after teammate Wout van Aert was sidelined by a crash, Jorgenson also took the Dwars doors Vlaanderen.

And because we have yet to see what Oier Lazkano can achieve with BORA. Already with Movistar Team this year he has given spectacular performances in the cobbled classics after winning the Clásica Jaén Paraíso. When Movistar Team decided to raise as much money as possible to convince him to stay and renew, it was too late. Red Bull's super project with BORA had already set its sights on the Basque rider.

It is more than clear that with Pelayo Sanchez who has already demonstrated on such an important stage as the Giro d'Italia that he has a lot of potential to excel in cycling in the coming years, Movistar Team should choose to take a risk and renew him. In the end, there are not many riders in a grand tour who can win a stage in the breakaway against names like Alaphilippe or Plapp, as well as take 2nd place in the same race.

Article written by Jorge P Borreguero.