"A disappointment", "upset", "surprise" are the words used by Caja Rural-Seguros RGA regarding Alberto Gallego’s adverse analytical finding for stanozolol that came just three days after he joined the team.

Juanma Hernandez, general manager of the team us at the Challenge de Mallorca and BiciCiclismo got his reaction to the disappointing news about the test that was taken on January 3.

"For us it is a blow, it was something we did not expect from a rider that started on January 1 and delivered such a surprise in the first control. The riders claims not to have taken anything, but what we have to do is to get him off the team automatically and sack him," he told the Spanish website.

"It was a disappointment,” he continued. “When they called me to tell me that the UCI had registered an abnormal control, I regarded it as a major disappointment. I talked to the rider and he denied it, saying it was impossible and that it was a question of what was in the supplements he had been using. He will now have to prove it, but we as a team had no choice but to take the action we have taken. If he proves his innocence, it will be good for him and the team, but that is no longer in our hands.”

The manager regrets the negative attention. "We had not had any upsets so far. We are doing things well with internal controls in addition to those from the UCI. For us it was a blow because our image was clean and we're talking to organizers,” he said.

"I still have the peace of mind regarding the rest. The group spent some time together and we have never attracted attention. And this is a new rider in the team,” he said.

The season begins and he relies on the roster he has gathered for 2016. "We have maintained the block, except Omar (Fraile) and Amets (Txurruka), but I think the signings we have made are going to fill those gaps. And that's the idea, to maintain the block which is not easy as there is attention from the WorldTour. However, with the step taken by ASO, I think it will be good for the Professional Continental teams and cycling in general," he said.

He supports ASO’s decision to leave the WorldTour in 2017. "Now it is not an economic issue to maintain a rider but all about the calendar. It is not fair that a WorldTour team has guaranteed participation in all races and and that professional continental teams have to rely on invitations. It depends on the economic level and not the sporting aspect, and I think that's not fair. We must reward the sporting aspect. This is a closed shop that did not benefit riders or teams, only those who had the license," he said.

Finally, he knows that it will be "very difficult" to repeat the 17 wins and the Vuelta mountains jersey from last year so he looks more for quality. "We must dream and target a stage win in the Vuelta or the Tour of the Basque Country,” he concluded.