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Ferrari ace Fernando Alonso has bought Euskaltel-Euskadi cycling team for a reported fee of €6m and in the process, he also saved the cash-strapped Spanish team from folding.
The public institutions in the Basque country withdrew their financial backing for the team which might have resulted in the team to cease its operation at the end of the season.
The team who spent 20 years in top-tier cycling was rescued by Alonso, who took over the ownership of their World Tour license and is now set to rebuild the team.
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“We are pleased to announce that the Spanish sportsman has reached an initial agreement to buy [Euskaltel-Euskadi] and so avoid its demise. The double F1 world champion’s great enthusiasm for cycling is well known. Apart from including this sport in his daily training routine, he has always felt a special passion for this particular world on two wheels,” stated the driver’s website.
Alonso is said to focus on rebuilding the team around 2008 Olympic road race champion Samuel Sanchez and the takeover was warmly welcomed by the cycling community who were preparing to bid farewell to the team.
