Gorka Izagirre completes return 'home' to Movistar following three years with Kazakh team Astana-Premier Tech
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Updated 07/10/2021 at 12:26 GMT
Spanish cyclist Gorka Izagirre has signed a two-year deal with Movistar, who he previously raced for between 2014 and 2017. Izagirre compared the switch with returning home, having claimed his only Grand Tour individual stage win with Movistar. "I’ve known other places in the world, other environments, but in the end, I wanted to come back at some point," he said.
LEUVEN, BELGIUM - SEPTEMBER 23: Gorka Izagirre of Spain during the 94th UCI Road World Championships 2021 - Training / #flanders2021 / on September 23, 2021 in Leuven, Belgium. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Image credit: Getty Images
Gorka Izagirre suggested he was going home by returning to Movistar after signing a two-year deal with the team he represented between 2014 and 2017.
Izagirre claimed his first top 10 at a World Tour stage race with the Spanish team in 2015, and was also racing for Movistar when he won a stage of the Giro d'Italia two years later.
Since then the 34-year-old Spaniard has spent a season with Bahrain-Merida and has raced for Astana-Premier Tech for the past three seasons.
He joins fellow Astana team-mates Oscar Rodríguez and Alex Aranburu in signing for Movistar and is the team's fifth signing of the current window.
"I’m so happy to come back to the Movistar Team!" Izagirre said in a statement.
"The four years I spent with this team were the best of my career, both from a sporting point of view and as a group of teammates who become best friends.
"These last few years for me have been just like when a young kid leaves his home and travels elsewhere: I’ve known other places in the world, other environments, but in the end, I wanted to come back at some point. Rogli
"I hope to bring back all of my experience, everything I’ve been taught, to give everything for this team once again."
Izagirre's move back to Movistar means that he will line up on a different team to younger brother Ion next season for only the second time in their professional careers.
Ion has already agreed to race for Confidis on a one-year contract in 2022.
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