Pablo Urtasun (1980) will be one of the leaders of Funvic Soul Carrefour in 2016. The Spaniard will move from Japan to Brazil and will again participate in a better European calendar after he faced a crisis when Euskaltel-Euskadi folded two years ago. Finally, he has managed to return to the pro ranks.

Urtasun turned professional with Euskaltel-Euskadi at 25 years of age but he was left without a team when the Basque team folded. Since then he had been searching for new opportunities. He spent a year without a team in 2014 after the fiasco with the Chilean PinoRoad team and this year he rode in Japan.

“I think it is a step forward,” he told Biciciclismo. “Especially because I will have a European calendar which is what made ​​me more excited. I was considering retirement and I would have said goodbye if I had not had a calendar of more quality, dignity. It's what I wanted and this was the only way I could get it.”

Urtasun explains how he was contacted by the Brazilian team which is moving up to the Pro Continental ranks next year.

“The truth is that it was all through the agency representing Velofutur, Juan Campos and Jorge Quintana,” he said. “They were looking for a spot, called me and offered me the proposal.  The first contact was in September but everything depended on the license from the UCI. I had already signed a professional continental contract but had to wait. To ride only in Brazil had no interest. The idea was to go to Europe and this was the only option I had. I went on vacation.

“I have not talked much with them yet. I was asked the about size of the bike, clothes and a few things more. They expect it to bring the experience I have about the biological passport and racing in Europe, and to teach young people how it works. And if I can get some results and help the team to step forward, it will only be better.

“Next year I want to again be at a good level in Europe, like in the years with Euskaltel, doing and winning some races. I want to have a good final season. It shows that despite all the difficulties I have had, spending a year without competing and another year abroad, and at 35 years of age I am able to offer something. I would be satisfied if I can have a good sporting level. I have not specific goals like wanting to win three races.”

Urtasun knows that it will be hard to get entry to the biggest races

“In the first year, it is very difficult to get an invitation to the WorldTour,” he said. “We know that invitations are very hard to get. In the first races we will try to do well and then we will have to see. It depends on the organizers and the level of the team. If we don’t have the level, it is not worthwhile.  We'll see what we can offer and what the organizers can give us. I hope I will have no problem doing almost the entire Spanish calendar. In Brazil there are also some opportunities and then we are forced to do the rest of calendar in Europe. I have to go to Brazil a few times. In the end I can live at home, that's the big difference from Japan.”

Urtasun found himself in a difficult situation when Euskaltel folded.

“When I decided to continue, the idea was that cycling would improve,” he said. “Fernando (Alonso) was making a team, perhaps Andalusia and the Basque Country could again have a team in the elite ranks. In fact, they are taking the steps with the Murias team. And I would have my place in 2014. But there was no team for me. Things were still dark and today they are even darker. Certainly things have not gone like I would have liked. Having made ​​the decision to continue, I wanted to have a worthy calendar, ride the Tour of the Basque Country or the Vuelta a Espana.

“Just when I was reaching my best year, the home team folded and I could not find a spot. There was nio team, it was virtually impossible. I had to move.

When I started training in the winter, there was the issue with PinoRoad. In February, I supposed we had a team, but then it went wrong. I kept training, thinking I was going to get something but it is hard to train without a clear objective. I did not lose hope until the year passed and I had no choice.”

Urtasun then moved to Japan.

“Cycling is different there, much more than I thought in terms of teams and races,” he said. “Almost all races are criteriums and held on closed circuits. It is a calendar that perhaps does not fit me one hundred percent but it was what I had. In all, I spent six and a half months there, 70 kilometers from Tokyo in a mountainous area close to Mount Fuji and with a climate similar to here. Being so far away from your wife and son for so long is hard, but you do what you like. With a family everything is much harder. You realize that your child is five years old only once and you're away most of the year.”