Movistar closes 2021 rosters with arrivals of Annemiek van Vleuten and Miguel Ángel López
Men's roster sees departure of Carlos Betancur while Leah Thomas joins growing women's squad.
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There’s no more room at Movistar Team for 2021.
The Spanish WorldTour outfit closed its men’s roster for next season with 29 riders that includes five new faces for 2021. The women’s team will see 14 riders, including the high-profile arrival of Annemiek van Vleuten.
On the men’s side, top team arrivals include Miguel Ángel López (Astana), Iván García Cortina (Bahrain-McLaren), Gregor Mühlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Gonzalo Serrano (Caja Rural), and Abner González. Key Movistar departures include Jürgen Roelandts, who retires, Carlos Betancur (destination unknown), Eduard Prades (Delco-One Provence), and Eduardo Sepúlveda (Androni-Sidermec).
Matteo Jorgenson, who is the first American on the franchise since Andy Hampsten in the 1990s, remains through 2023 following his promising rookie season.
Core riders Enric Mas and Marc Soler remain at the center of the team’s plans, with 40-year-old Alejandro Valverde to ride into 2021 in what will likely be his final pro season.
Van Vleuten’s arrival will raise the profile of the women’s team, which grows to 14 along with the arrival of American Leah Thomas. The team was created in 2018 and won two races in the shortened 2020 season.
With a roster of 43 riders, Movistar is among just five teams in the peloton that include both men’s and women’s WorldTour teams. The others include Trek-Segafredo, DMS (Sunweb in 2020), Mitchelton-Scott (also set for a new name in 2021), and French team Groupama-FDJ.
The Movistar men’s team in 2021 will mark the team’s 42nd season among the elite peloton, a mark as cycling’s longest-running WorldTour-level team that stretches back its foundation in 1980 with the Reynolds team. Other title sponsorships include Banesto (1990-2003), Iles Balears (2004-05), Caisse d’Epargne (2006-10), and the arrival of Movistar in 2011.