Mikel Landa has agreed a move to the Soudal Quick-Step team for 2024, marking the end of a four-year partnership with Bahrain-Victorious, despite a desire to keep the Spanish cyclist, now 34, in the team for next season .
Milan Erzen, the team’s sporting director, recently acknowledged, in an interview with the British website GCN, that the financial constraints in the Bahrain-Victorious budget made it unlikely that Landa would continue with the team.
Limited budget
“We spoke to Mikel in January 2023 and he knows we were limited on budget,” begins Erzen. “That was the reason we didn’t sign him again. He has shown a truly incredible season and still has huge potential to reach the top of the Grand Tour rankings in the future.”
In 2024, Bahrain-Victorious did not sign a single World Tour rider during the transfer window. However, Erzen is optimistic about the future.
“It’s not always about money, but you can invest in different ways with staff and training that can improve performance. Sometimes I say that we are the best of the rest, because when we compare our budget and results, we are the best investment in bicycle racing”, he concludes.
“Our method is to look for young cyclists, who have two or three years to learn. We want to create a circle of production, of our development team, so that in one or two years we have one or two really good drivers. We give the young people the same materials and coaches as the WorldTour team.”
[…] Mikel Landa (ESP) […]