"A huge step forward": Movistar launches its own development team with an international focus

In the past, Movistar often recruited riders from smaller Spanish teams, with young talents occasionally joining from continental squads. Now the team will have its own pond to fish from.The newly presented roster features 12 young riders, all between 17 and 21 years old. Notably, it has an international lineup: alongside six Spaniards, there are two Italians, one Costa Rican, one Czech, one Colombian, and one Brit.

“We’re introducing an inspiring group of young riders with tremendous potential for growth,” said team manager Manuel Mateo in a press release. “Some have already shown great promise, and with the others we’ll work to help them follow a similar path, each within their own specialty. Our goal is to provide them with an ideal development environment where they feel at home and have the freedom to continue growing.”

Sebastián Unzué, son of team boss Eusebio and general manager of the project, believes that a development team was crucial to keep pace with the top squads. “This selection of 12 riders for our development team marks a huge step forward in our structure. We want to offer these young athletes a professional environment where they can grow, learn, and take their first steps toward the elite level.”

With its international character and full control over its own talent pipeline, Unzué hopes Movistar will remain visible at the highest level for years to come. “This project was created with a long-term vision, focusing on supporting both the sporting and personal development of these riders.” The team already had a feeder setup in Baqué Movistar Team, which was focused solely on young Spanish riders. That formation is now supplying several riders to the new continental squad.