Euskaltel-Euskadi, waiting for Mikel Landa, completes its best recent season

He Euskaltel-Euskadi has completed its best season in recent years with its classification among the top 30 teams in the UCI rankingan objective that will allow him to qualify for invitations to compete in the three grand tours in 2027 in which he will have Mikel Landa from Alava in his ranks.

The orange team finished the year in 28th position in the world, with 2,912 points, compared to 34th place and 1,387 points in 2025. These figures represent an increase of 1,525 points, 110% more than last year, according to data provided by the team supported by the Euskadi Foundation.

Between January 13 and October 18, Euskaltel-Euskadi has competed on four continents and 17 countries, with a calendar of 74 races and 189 days of competition.

Among them are four WorldTour events – Volta a Catalunya, Itzulia and the classics of San Sebastián and Brittany – and another 18 in the ProSeries category. The balance includes nine victories, 18 second places and nine third places.

The final stretch of the season was decisive in virtually ensuring a presence among the top 30. In Algeria, Euskaltel-Euskadi added 102 points in the Grand Prix El Djazaïr, where Iker Mintegi won the overall, Danny van der Tuuk was second and Paul Hennequin won the last stage.

The orange formation added another 65 points in the Clásica La Capitale, with Van der Tuuk second, and 70 in the Belgian classic Binche-Chimay-Binche, in which Xabier Berasategi finished sixth and Hodei Muñoz, tenth.

In the last European events, Iker Mintegi was eleventh in the Giro del Veneto and the team continued to add points in the Veneto Classic and the Time Trial of Nations. The finishing touch came in Panama, where Berasategi won the Chiriquí Grand Prix and Gotzon Martín won the general classification of the Chiriquí Provincial Classic after winning the first stage and finishing second in the last.

The position achieved in the ranking will allow Euskaltel-Euskadi to qualify for invitations to the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España in a 2027 season that will also have the incentive of the incorporation of Mikel Landa.

The 36-year-old rider from Murgia achieved one of the most important victories of his career last September by winning the queen stage of La Vuelta, ending in Collado del Alguacil.