"The team deserves a Grand Tour": Fernando Gaviria hopes to tip the scales for Caja Rural in 2026
Cycling
The 2026 season is already underway, and Fernando Gaviria’s debut with his new team is getting closer. In the last transfer window, the Colombian sprinter left Movistar Team after the Spanish squad chose not to renew him, but he found a new home in Spain by signing with Caja Rural - Seguros RGA. Will he become their new leading man?
Caja Rural’s plan is for Fernando Gaviria to become a true UCI points machine to launch the new 2026–2028 triennium in style. Even without wins, consistent Top 10s are highly valuable for a Spanish ProTeam like theirs, which also dreams of returning to a Grand Tour this season.
At least that’s what Gaviria himself indicated in a recent interview with MARCA. The Colombian said that Caja Rural - Seguros RGA’s main team objective is to secure a spot in one of the three Grand Tours, above all at the Vuelta a España.
"Within the team, the expectation is that we can participate in one of the Grand Tours. They deserve it as a team, because they scored very good points and have a strong ranking. Personally, I’d like to race a Grand Tour with Caja Rural: it’s one of the goals," Fernando Gaviria said.
On paper, Caja Rural is not due a wildcard this year for the 2026 Vuelta a España. Despite a standout showing last year, with Abel Balderstone as the top home rider in the final general classification (13th), alongside an excellent Jaime Guardeño (14th), the team is far from throwing in the towel.
Fernando Gaviria wants to ride a Grand Tour with Caja Rural in 2026
A sour end at Movistar Team
Fernando Gaviria also reflected on his three seasons at Movistar Team, clearly trending from good to worse. His final year was the most disappointing of all.
"It was a pretty average year, leaning towards bad. Early in the season I had a shoulder injury and then split my knee in a crash while preparing for the Tour de France; several things limited my preparation. On top of that, missing out on the Tour’s eight-man roster threw me off a bit, because it felt like splitting the season in two. But well, cycling is like that and things don’t always go your way," he concluded.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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