After its maiden season in the UCI ranks as a Continental team, Spanish cycling team Equipo Kern Pharma will step up to UCI ProTeam in 2021 with the same core of riders on its roster. 12 out of the 14 riders that raced on the green outfit this season will stay next year and continue to grow along with this young sporting project.
Roger Adrià, Sergio Araiz, Kiko Galván, Martí Márquez, Iván Moreno, José Félix Parra and Ibon Ruiz all made their debut as pro riders with Equipo Kern Pharma last season coming from its feeder team Equipo Lizarte, while Gipuzkoa’s Jon Agirre and Colombia’s Daniel Méndez did so joining from development squads Baqué and AV Villas Auteco.
Meanwhile, Urko Berrade, Jaime Castrillo and Enrique Sanz did also race in the past for Equipo Lizarte, but joined Equipo Kern Pharma with some professional experience under their belts. Sanz delivered the team’s first-ever victory at stage 3 of Belgrade-Banjaluka, while Castrillo was 4th in the Spanish National Championships ITT.
This core of 12 riders will be joined by the 6 recruits that have been already announced: Russia’s Savva Novikov, Czech Republic’s Vojtech Repa, Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Diego López Fuentes, U23 Spanish Cup winner Jordi López, climbing prospect Carlos García Pierna, and his promising brother Raúl García Pierna. Two more signings will be announced in the coming days.
Two riders won’t stay in Equipo Kern Pharma in 2021. Martín Bouzas decided to quit professional cycling back in September, while Taiwan’s Sergio Tu steps down to Equipo Lizarte in order to explore a new path for his development as a cyclist.
“We are very proud to continue growing along with these riders,” says Juanjo Oroz, Team Manager of Equipo Kern Pharma. “These are cyclist with great sporting and human value. This season, they have delivered very good performances in the pro peloton coming straight from the amateur ranks.”
“They are the reason this team exists. We want to be their best option for their career to thrive not only next year, but many more. They will for sure be offered the chance to join other, bigger teams. Our goal is to evolve at their same pace and inspire them to choose to stay in Equipo Kern Pharma.”
“We don’t want to buy champions. We intend to develop them and reach the summit of this sport, or the heights we may deserve, with honest, long-term and hard work. The feeling of excitement and reward we will get to feel if any of them manages to raise his arms in a World Tour race wearing our outfit, after having grown along with him since his U23 years, will be amazing.”
Equipo Kern Pharma – 2021 roster
Roger Adrià (18/04/1998, Barcelona)
Jon Agirre (10/09/1997, Zumaia)
Sergio Araiz (29/04/1998, Ayegui)
Urko Berrade (28/11/1997, Pamplona)
Jaime Castrillo (13/03/1996, Jaca)
Kiko Galván (01/12/1997, Lliça d’Amunt)
Carlos García Pierna (23/07/1999, Tres Cantos)
Raúl García Pierna (23/02/2001, Tres Cantos)
Jordi López (14/08/1998, Badalona)
Diego López Fuentes (09/12/1997, Ayegui)
Martí Márquez (09/02/1996, Llinars del Vallès)
Daniel Méndez (02/06/2000, Bogotá)
Iván Moreno (27/05/1996, Castellón)
Savva Novikov (27/07/1999, Tula)
José Félix Parra (16/01/1997, Ossa de Montiel)
Vojtěch Řepa (14/08/2000, Velká Bíteš)
Ibon Ruiz (30/01/1999, Vitoria)
Enrique Sanz (11/09/1989, Orkoien)
