After rumours linking them to Sky, Ion Izagirre has confirmed he and brother Gorka will sign a contract extension at Movistar for 2016.

“The only thing that remains is signing the contract, but we are going to reach an agreement with the Movistar management. Next year, we will be here,” Ion Izagirre said at the start line of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.

With most of Spain’s big GC riders (Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodriguez, Samuel Sanchez and Alberto Contador) looking like they will be out of the sport by January 2018, Ion Izagirre is the nations big GC hope, after he was strong in the Basque Country and finally won the Tour de Pologne this year. But 26-year-old Ion says he isn’t at any of those riders level yet.

“Contador, Purito, Valverde — I can’t compare myself with them, but I believe that Spanish cycling has strong riders,” he said. “For example, Marc Soler just won the Tour de l’Avenir [the premier under-23 race of the season]. We have Mikel Landa, myself, there is Jesús Herrada … I believe that the younger crowd is getting to that level step by step. And I hope that in the coming years we will be able to deliver victories.”

So while it looks like Soler, Herrada, Landa and Ruben Fernandez will be Spain’s big hopefuls, Izagirre is the man to watch in the coming years.