MatParker117 said:
JRanton said:
MatParker117 said:
nobilis said:
Movistar confirm the extension of 7 riders : Ion and Gorka Izagirre, Fran Ventoso, Imanol Erviti, Javi Moreno, José Joaquín Rojas and Dayer Quintana.
http://www.biciciclismo.com/es/movistar-team-anuncia-siete-renovaciones-22-09-2015
Benat to Sky looking a bit more likely.
I remember reading an interview with Intxausti where he said he was looking for opportunties to lead at some important races (one week WT races) if he was to leave Movistar. Sky seems like just about the worst fit for that desire. There's every chance that whole Izagirre x2/Intxausti to Sky talk was completely bogus and merely leaked by their agent (I believe they all have the same one) to push up their value on the market.
I think he would get a chance at some 2.HC and 2.1 races (Oman, Coppi Bartalli, Langkawi for example). By the way how do you keep Benat, Landa, Kwait, Thomas & Froome all happy if your Sir Dave?
He understandably wants better opportunities than that. Intxausti would be the 2nd or 3rd best GC rider at most WT teams. At Sky he'd have Froome, Landa, Thomas, Konig, Kwiatkowski and Sergio Henao ahead of him. Then there's the likes of Nieve, Poels and Roche who are at a similar level to him.
So to answer your question, Brailsford wouldn't be able to keep Intxausti happy unless they were paying him more than any other team wanted to pay him.