Caja Rural - Seguros RGA’s elite and U23 teams have enjoyed three days together at the Bed4U hotel in Tudela, Navarra in Spain this week. Here, the riders and staff had their first planning sessions ahead of the 2017 season. The days also served as an excellent opportunity for the team’s sponsors, such as Caja Rural, Spiuk, Medilast and Sencillo Bikes, to talk about their new products for the up-coming season.
 
Sports director Josemi Fernández said: “We always have this kind of first get-together to meet the new riders and explain everybody the way we will be working and which races we aim to take part in next year. We also had meetings with our sponsors, telling the riders which kind of material they will be using. Looking at the roster, we have renewed the contracts with most of our riders, so, once again, it’s a very young team. Riders like Benito, Lastra and Rosón will have a chance to continue to evolve and confirm their great talent”.
 
The last two years have been the most successful ones for Caja Rural - Seguros RGA with 28 victories in total. Now, the Spanish team aims to continue on the same path. Nineteen riders are already in place for the 2017 season and soon, the team will announce its last signing, an American rider, to complete the roster.
 
David Arroyo added: “This first team meeting went very well. We have many young riders who are eager to continue growing and developing as professional cyclists. This is something the team is very good at nurturing. I hope to continue to contribute to this and help these guys as much as I can”.
 
Alex Aranburu said: “As one of the new riders, I really like the atmosphere around this team. I felt like a part of the group since the very first moment I met them and that really helps on your integration. I already knew riders like Lastra, Irisarri and Zabala but in general, it was very easy to get along with everybody. We have already been working at the gym for the past month and now, we have to continue working hard in order to arrive in the best possible shape for the first races. My dream is to take part in Vuelta al País Vasco. I know it’s going to be difficult, but I will do everything I can to be ready and gain the team’s confidence”.
 
Unfortunately, not all of the team’s riders are fit-for-fight at the moment. Last week, Miguel Ángel Benito crashed during training and suffered contusions on both knees, while Diego Rubio, who suffered a crash at the World Championships in Qatar, will need surgery on his broken wrist after all. Meanwhile, Lluis Mas has already begun training again after breaking his hip in a crash during Vuelta a España. However, Mas still carries some discomfort due to a dislocated disc. He’s working with a physiotherapist every day and next week, he will start workouts in the pool to speed up his recovery.

Team roster for 2017:
- Alex Aranburu (Euskadi - Murias)
- David Arroyo
- Miguel Ángel Benito 
- Chris Butler 
- Fabricio Ferrari 
- Jon Irisarri (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA U23)
- Jonathan Lastra 
- Lluis Mas 
- Antonio Molina 
- Dylan Page (Roth - Skoda)
- Sergio Pardilla
- Eduard Prades 
- Rafael Reis (W52 - Porto)
- Jaime Rosón 
- Diego Rubio 
- Héctor Sáez 
- Nick Schultz (SEG Academy Racing)
- Yuri Trofimov (Tinkoff)
- Josu Zabala (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA U23)

U23 team roster for 2017:
- Ander Alonso 
- Pablo Alonso 
- Eneko Aramendia 
- Iker Azkarate 
- Pablo Benito
- Alex Burdoy
- Xavier Cañellas
- Alejandro Caro 
- German Castell 
- Franklin Chacón
- Carlos Cobos 
- Álvaro Cuadros 
- Javier Fuentes 
- Abel Gebrehiwet Aferwerki
- Arturo Grávalos
- Pol Hervás 
- Odei Juango
- David Martin
- Sergio Martin
- Mauricio Moreira
- Óscar Pelegrí 
- Aitor Rodríguez
- Jaume Sureda
- Edwin Yair Torres 
- Seymon Tracz