Euskaltel-Euskadi secured 242 UCI points during its recent racing block in Algeria, lifting the Basque professional cycling team to 29th in the provisional International Cycling Union rankings with 2,654 total points. The squad’s performances across North Eastern circuits surpassed Italian rival Bardiani in the standings.
Classique Le Capitale points haul in Algiers
The orange-clad team added 65 points on Friday at the Classique Le Capitale in Algiers, capital of Algeria. Danny van der Tuuk finished second, Paul Hennequin fourth, Jonathan Lastra sixth, and Iker Mintegi seventh under the direction of sports director Pablo Urtasun. Yago Agirre and Nico Alustiza also competed for the squad.
Race organizers shortened the street circuit from eleven laps to seven prior to the start due to wet pavement conditions. Euskaltel-Euskadi placed four riders into the early breakaway alongside riders from Belgian continental team Tarteletto. The race came down to a head-to-head sprint between Van der Tuuk and an American competitor, who secured the win in the closing meters.
Earlier success across Algerian roads
Friday’s one-day race followed a productive stage-racing campaign in Algeria. Euskaltel-Euskadi claimed three victories during the Grand Prix El Djazaïr, taking two stage wins through Van der Tuuk and Hennequin, alongside the overall individual classification via Mintegi. The team added further podium finishes with Lastra taking second and Van der Tuuk third at the Classique Djamaa.
Those results combined with 70 points earned at the Belgian one-day race Binche-Chimay-Binche, where Xabier Berasategi placed sixth and Hodei Muñoz finished tenth. Across the week, the Basque team accumulated more than 300 total points.
UCI ranking shifts against European rivals
The newly gathered points lift Euskaltel-Euskadi to 2,654 points, moving past Bardiani’s 2,619 points in the UCI classification. The Basque team sits 20 points behind ProTeam outfit Picnic, while Italian team MBH holds 2,586 points and Li Ning follows with 2,407 points.
Rival squads continue their campaigns this weekend. Bardiani and MBH compete in Italy at regional autumn events, while Li Ning starts the Tour of Kyushu in Japan.
Euskaltel-Euskadi returns to competition in Hong Kong and Italy
Euskaltel-Euskadi returns to competition on Sunday at the Classique Hong Kong Cyclothon (1.1). Jorge Azanza directs a roster featuring Berasategi, Xabier Isasa, Gotzon Martín, Muñoz, and Gari Ugarte in a field containing six UCI WorldTour teams, six UCI ProTeams, and four continental squads. The team will encounter MBH and Li Ning in Hong Kong.
The team concludes its racing calendar next week with three additional starts: the Giro del Veneto (1.Pro) in Italy on Wednesday, followed on Sunday by the Chrono des Nations (1.1) in France and the Veneto Classic (1.Pro) in Italy.
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