It is testament to Mikel Landa's potential that he is one of very few Euskaltel riders to have signed a contract with a ProTeam for the coming season. The talented Basque climber will be riding in Astana colours and is hoping to get the chance to ride the Giro d'Italia as part of a more international team than his old one.

The demise of Euskaltel has left many riders on the Basque team without a contract for 2014. Some have been forced to retire, most have signed with small continental teams and only 6 riders have secured a ride on a team that is likely to receive a ProTeam license.

One of the fortunate ones is talented climber Mikel Landa who has been signed by Astana. Having spent his first three years as a professional with Euskaltel, he is now ready to leave his old and familiar surroundings to be part of one of cycling's major teams.

“Euskaltel-Euskadi was a much smaller team, and it was like a big family,” he told Marca in an interview. “Now, in Astana, everything is different. Now we have many mixed languages, new people, different cultures. I hope to get used to it quickly. 

“I’ll take on the challenge with great respect," he added. "I’ll have to do it little by little, but I know that I have a lot I can give. They have shown confidence in me, and that gives me peace of mind. I feel valued within the squad, especially after seeing what happened with [Euskaltel]. I have wanted to do great things here.”
 

Landa burst onto the scene in 2011 when he won the queen stage of the Vuelta a Burgos and showed his talents one year later when he finished 2nd behind Daniel Moreno in the GP Miguel Indurain. This year he was 2nd in the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madria and Vuelta a Asturias and 6th in both the Vuelta Burgos and the Clasica San Sebastian. He showed his climbing talents when he finished 9th on the Vuelta mountain stage to Collade de la Gallina.

He may been very inconsistent in his first three seasons but those kind of performances have been enough to attract the interest of Astana. However, he knows that he has been extremely fortunate to find a new team in a market that is loaded with unemployed riders.

“The situation with my former team-mates is very disturbing and alarming,” he admitted. “Not many are left with a team, and some will be forced to retire. It is truly sad to have seen this outcome.”
 

When Astana signed Landa, team manager Alexander Vinokourov indicated that a debut ride in the Tour de France could be in store. However, Landa has set his sights on another three-week race which he has not done before.

“I think I’ll have my moments this year, depending on how long it takes to adapt,” Landa concluded. “I’d love to compete in the Giro d’Italia, which is one of the most exciting races. There are also my home races, such as the Vuelta al País Vasco, Clásica San Sebastián, and the Volta a Catalunya.”

If Landa is selected for the Giro, he will ride in support of Michele Scarponi and Fabio Aru who are the designated Astana captains for the Italian grand tour.