Any balance of the Movistar Team the Tour de France already goes through the first stage, even before it is finished.
The fall and abandonment due to a fractured scapula of Enric Mas in one of the descents of the day left the team without plan A, which was none other than to work to step on the podium in Paris, but as always happens to some of the favorites, the first days of Tour do not forgive and in the case of Enric was the most terrible way possible; without the option to demonstrate any of the great work that had led him to the start of Bilbao as one of the important men of the race.
Enric could not show too much of the jersey white Iceberg that Gobik designed for the best Spanish team in the most important race of the year. The three-week Tour de France provided the backdrop for the Spanish team's riders. Movistar Team and for those colors that sought uniqueness in the peloton and to convey a message of respect for the oceans.
In fact, at the conclusion of the race, the jerseys of Nelson Oliveira, Alex Aranburu and Gorka Izaguirre plus that of Gregor Mühlberger, the Austrian champion, were auctioned for the benefit of the Ecomar Foundation, which seeks to educate children about respect for the sea and its values.
Always in the cuts
With Enric Mas retired, the team reworked its strategy, seeking to get the best out of each of its riders in the stages that followed the great Basque start.
Already in the Pyrenees, it was proven that this change of chip was a fact. On the first day, on the road to Laruns, Matteo Jorgenson and Gregor Mühlberger were part of the cut that formed the Bora Hindley's team, which put the Tour in jeopardy. The next day, Ruben Guerreiro climbed Cauterets with Vingegaard and Pogacar, catching a breakaway before the Tourmalet.
As has been the custom since the eighties, the team did not forget its Navarre roots and, on July 7, the riders climbed the presentation podium wearing the red scarf in honor of San Fermín.
It was the first days of the Tour and their strength, although not intact, was still very strong.
Matteo Jorgenson would be a great protagonist in a couple of days, especially that of Puy de Döme, in the good breakaway and taking risks almost fifty kilometers from the summit, coming close, very close, to the victory that ended up in the hands of the Canadian Woods, who overtook him in the final kilometer.
A few days later, he would be the protagonist in another breakaway that ended with Ion Izagirre winning and the American in third place. Jorgenson's Tour ended earlier than expected due to injury, but it was a measure of how much this rider has grown in the team.
In between, another home rider, Antonio Pedrero, also made the good cut in the fast-paced day that ended with the success of Pello Bilbao. Pedrero abandoned the Tour after a massive crash at the start of one of the Alpine days.
The presence of Movistar Team in the good cuts was a constant in the hands of Oliveira, Gorka Izagirre and Mühlberger himself. Alex Aranburu, for his part, looked for luck in the finishes, but the success of the breakaways in this Tour complicated things.
And the Tour can give you a lot and deny you everything, for the Movistar Team was not an easy edition, but the team showed its mettle and sought a fortune that, as it turned out, was reserved for people of a very high level.
