The demise of the Euskaltel team has left several riders on the verge of retirement but this week has brought positive news for three of them. Ioannis Tamouridis, Garikoitz Bravo and Peio Bilbao will continue their careers at SP Tableware, Efapel and Caja Rural respectively while Adrian Saez has been less fortunate and has decided to end his career.

The demise of the Euskaltel team has come at the worst possible time, with an additional four professional teams folding at the end of the season. This has left more than hundred riders on the market and most of them have been unable to find a new team for the 2014 season.

The Euskaltel riders have had very little luck so far. On Monday, only 6 of them had found a new team while Mikel Astarloza has announced his retirement. Not even star riders Samuel Sanchez and Igor Anton have found a home for 2014 yet.

However, this week has been a positive one for the riders on the Basque team. Earlier this week it was announced that Juan Jose Lobato had signed a contract with Movistar and now Ioannis Tamouridis, Garikoitz Bravo and Peio Bilbao can confirm that they will continue their careers, albeit not at the highest level.

After four years on his home team SP Tableware, Tamouridis got his chance on the highest level with Euskaltel. He has mostly worked as a domestique but occasionally shown himself in the bunch sprints. He was 9th on a stage in the Girom ended his season on a high by sprinting to 9th in the Paris-Tours and won both his national time trial and road race titles. Next year he will return to his native Greece and his familiar surrounding at the SP Tableware team.

Bravo is a talented climber who excelled for Caja Rural in 2012, winning the young riders' jersey in the Volta a Portugal. Those results earned him a contract with Euskaltel where he has mostly worked as a domestique or taken part in early escapes. However, he showed his talents in the final part of the season when he brought Euskaltel's life to a successful end when he finished 10th in the WorldTour race Tour of Beijing.

Earlier this week, it emerged that he would join the new Basque continental team that was planned to be set up by Jon Odriozola. Unfortunately, potential sponsor NER Group decided to withdraw its support, leaving Bravo with no team for 2014. Instead, he has signed a contract with Portuguese continental team Efapel-Glassdrive where he will join forces with current teammate Ricardo Mestre.

Bilbao turned pro with Euskaltel in 2011 but has mostly been involved in early breakaway without taking too many results. However, he finished 2nd in the Tour de Vendee last year and showed his potential as a climber by finishing 7th in the Vuelta Asturias this year.  The 23-year-old has signed a contract with Caja Rural for the 2014 season.

"[I am] very aggressive," he said. "I like to attack in the races and am not afraid of anything. I have competed in all areas and I think I perform well anywhere although I have my strength in the mountains and in the classics. I need to improve my consistency in longer races but I have great enthusiasm and desire to learn.

"The first impression [of the team] is very good," he added. "[Director] Eugenio [Goikoetxea] and [manager] Juanma [Hernandez] have given me peace in my mind. The team is growing every year and knows where it is and what its goals are. I think I'll fit into the structure and I hope it will be a good year for me and the team. I hope to excel in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco Vuelta or the Vuelta a Espana. There will be a lot of competition in the team but I will work hard to achieve my objectives."

While Tamouridis, Bilbao and Bravo have found new teams for the coming season, their teammate Adrian Saez has had less luck. The 27-year-old who turned pro in 2012 with Euskaltel has admitted defeat and decided to end his career, despite showing great progress in his second professional season.

"I see no future in cycling," he told Agencia Efe. "It is a situation that has no solution as there are many riders on the market and most teams are already full."

15 Euskaltel riders still haven't found a new team or definitively decided to end their careers.