"We were limited with the budget. That was the reason why we didn’t sign him again" - Mikel Landa's Bahrain - Victorious departure down to financial limitations
Cycling
Mikel Landa will take his 'Landismo' style of racing to Soudal - Quick-Step in 2024, ending a four-year stint with the Bahrain - Victorious team. Bahrain boss Milan Erzen however, sends Landa off with his best regards.
Despite always being keen to keep the now 34-year-old Spaniard for the coming season, Erzen has recently admitted in conversation with GCN that financial restrictions in the budget of the Bahrain - Victorious team, meant that Landa staying put was always an unlikely prospect.
“We talked with Mikel in January 2023 and he knows that we were limited with the budget," Erzen begins. "That was the reason why we didn’t sign him again. He showed a really amazing season and he’s still got huge potential for the top rankings in the Grand Tours in the future. He’s an amazing guy and an amazing rider but that’s the business of cycling. Sometimes you lose something and sometimes you get something."
In fact, Bahrain - Victorious didn't sign a single World Tour rider over the transfer window. Nevertheless, Erzen is optimistic for the future. "I think we’ve got a really good team for the future with young guys,” he says positively. “We need to understand that the richest teams have more chance of getting the younger riders, but for me, it’s always a challenge to work with some of the guys who didn’t win big races in the junior categories. We can take a different approach and then take them to a higher level.”
"It’s not always about the money but you can invest in different ways with staff and training that can improve performance. I sometimes say that we’re the best of the rest because when we compare our budget and results we’re the best investment in cycling," he concludes.
“Our way is to create riders from the young guys who have two or three years to learn. We want to create a circle of production from our development team so that in one or two years we’ll have one or two really good riders from the young ranks. We give the young guys the same materials, and coaches as the WorldTour team.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
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