In a proud moment for CyclingQuotes, five of the nine riders on the Caja Rural squad heading to the year’s final Grand Tour, are rider we have interviewed recently.

The Spanish Pro Conti teams selection of Hugh Carthy, Sergio Pardilla, David Arroyo and Llius Mas are joined by interviewees Angel Madrazo, Pello Bilbao, Eduard Prades, Jose Goncalves and Jaime Roson.

Madrazo, moving on to Delko-Marseille in 2017, spoke to CyclingQuotes just ahead of the 2015 season, where he spoke of his desire to turn his attacking tendencies, which have made him a fan favourite, into win. He has won two races since we spoke to him. Read his interview here.

We caught up with Pello Bilbao last September. The former Euskaltel man was just starting to show his class and win races, whilst performing in the GC. He had taken second on a Vuelta stage, something he will hope to correct this year. His big goal was to enhance his skills and become a better rider. He had a shaky start to 2016, but has been great since GP Indurain, winning one race and having 12 top tens. Read his interview here.
 

When Bilbao got sick and dropped out of GC contention in the Tour of Turkey, his teammate Jose Goncalves stepped up and won the race. we spoke to him back in February this year and he told us the Olympics was a big goal. He too had a shaky start but after his Turkish win, he took two stages of races in Portugal and fulfilled his dream of being an Olympian. He was the teams star man in last year’s Vuelta, putting on a show in his first three-week race. Jose is a man of few words but you can read the interview with the man tipped to join Katusha for 2017 here.

When we spoke to puncheur Edu Prades, he made it very clear that after taking a big win in 2015 at the Coppa Sabatini, he was confident he could make the Vuelta team. Like his teammates, Prades started slowly but icked up a few top tens in WorldTour events before winning a stage in GP Beiras and then taking an important win at the Philadelphia Classic. He hasn’t done much racing since winning in the US, but will seek to prepare for his first Grand Tour in Tour du Limousin. Read his interview here.

Neo-pro Jaime Roson, 2015 U23 Spanish RR champion, is another Grand Tour debutant and perhaps a surprise inclusion in the team. We spoke with him about a month ago and he told us he had not enjoyed his start as a pro in the spring, but found his legs in Castilla y Leon with fifth on GC. He followed that with ninth overall in Turkey but won the stage to Elmali, a hard climb known as Eastern Europe’s answer to Alpe d’Huez, and he made it look very easy indeed. Last month he said hen hopes he had shown enough for his coaches to trust him at the Vuelta but he still had no idea if he would make the team. He has had a lot of DNFs in recent races, but 14th overall in Burgos shows his form is good and he can really show his class in Spain. Read our piece with Spain’s talented climber here.

As always, CyclingQuotes wishes all riders a good race, but we will be rooting for our five attackers to light up the Vuelta and help Caja Rural end a three year long winless streak in the Vuelta a Espana. We thank Caja Rural-Seguros RGA for their coninued support in helping secure interviews with their best riders.