Eugenio Goikoetxea, sports director of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, has confirmed that his Spanish team has been in touch with the organziers of the Giro d'Italia who want the Spaniards to line up at their event.

2016 could be the year in which Caja Rural-Seguros RGA makes a debut in the Giro d'Italia. The excellent season with 17 wins and the great performance in the Italian races - with wins in the Giro dell'Apenino with Omar Fraile and the Coppa Sabatini with Eduard Prades - have impressed the organizers of the Corsa Rosa. 

"Every year we apply for an invitation and we are always on the shortlist, but this year there has been a more personal contact. Our manager Juanma Hernandez has been in touch with the organizers and we would like us to be in the race," Eugenio Goikoetxea told Ciclismo a Fondo.

One of the key issues for the aspirations of the Spanish team is the number of WorldTour licenses that will be granted. At the moment, only 17 teams have applied and unless the UCI decides to promote Dimension Data or another team, there will be five wildcards. Given that four of them are like to go to the Italian teams Bardiani, Androni, Southeast and Nippo-Vini Fantini, there would be a remaining spot for which Caja Rural-Seguros RGA will be up against teams like Dimension Data, CCC and Team Roompot, given the Corsa Rosa will start from the Netherlands.

"In mid-November we will have a meeting with the organizers and there we will know if we have an invitation or not and what the conditions for participating in the race are," said Goikoetxea who added that "we hope to know more soon because there are many interesting riders on the market that could reinforce us." If the team ends up doing the Giro-Vuelta double, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA will have to expand a roster that is currently closed with the renewals of Javier Aramendia, Sergio Pardilla, David Arroyo and Antonio Molina. 

One of the requirements of the Corsa Rosa could be the presence of Italians in the team and it has been rumoured in recent days Rinaldo Nocentini, who won't stay at AG2R-La Mondiale, could join the team. 

"Ultimately you can not go the with neo-pros. They look for riders that can do well. It is true that riders like Nocentini and Igor Anton, who do not enter into our plans for now, could be interesting if our presence is confirmed, " he said.

Goikoetxea also warned about the risks and complications that can come from a Giro participation. 

"If we do the race, we have to sign another rider and it could lead to less good performances in our own races. In addition, there is the logistaical level as it implies some difficulties. You have to take into account that it starts from Holland and then you go to southern Italy which forces us to have a double structure and auxiliary vehicles which we don't have today. Even if we get an invitation, we will have a lot of work to to."

But regardless of whether Caja Rural-Seguros RGA will do the next Giro d'Italia, they seem very likely to be involved in other Italian World Tour races like Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo and Giro d'Lombardía. 

"It would be an important quality step in our calendar and is certainly a much more feasible and interesting possibility. Personally I would be thrilled, " said Eugenio Goikoetxea who confirmed that sprinter Francesco Lasca will not stay with the team because "he has failed to solve his injury issues. He has a serious muscle problem that makes it difficult to be a professional cyclist and is considering an operation but there is no guarantee that the problem will be solved. We are not going to leave him alone. We will help, but so far he is unable to compete." 

Meanwhile, Sergio Pardilla will complete his recovery after the serious accident in the Tour of the Basque Country, He is already training and he only has to "restore confidence on the bike, gain strength in his hand to hold the handlebars and move around with ease in the peloton."