ProTeam Fundacion Orbea announced that a Basque telecommunications company has agreed to join the team as its main sponsor for four years.

The team's home race, Iturria Basque, April 6-11, will be its debut under the new sponsorship. From then on, the team will be known as Euskaltel Euskadi, the long-running top team until its dissolution in 2013.

Bahrain McLaren rider and president of the Euskadi Foundation, Mikel Landa, said the goal is to bring Euskadi, a feeder team for the former World Tour organization and an independent professional team in 2020, back to the top of the sport.

"The goal is to continue on the path of growth, and Euskaltel's support will be a big boost," he said. We want to get the team back to where it should be." The collaboration with Euskaltel and the move to the UCI ProTeam category is a step in that direction."

Euskaltel previously sponsored the top-level Basque team Euskaltel-Euskadi from 1998 to 2013, with Ivan Mayo, Roberto Laiseka, Igor Anton, Haimar Zubeldia, Samuel Sanchez and others, he introduced the best of Basque cycling. In his later years, Landa, Mikel Nieve, Ion Izaguirre, and his brother Gorka Izaguirre were the core of the team.

"The relationship between Euskaltel, cycling, and Fundacion Euskadi was a success story. We want to repeat this great union and bring excitement back to all our fans," said Xavier Iturbe, President of Euskaltel. We share this feeling and these values

"This team is unique and represents the whole country. I'm very proud of the new project led by Mikel Landa, because he's doing a fantastic job.

Despite bringing together an entire team from the relatively small regions of northern Spain and southwestern France, Euskaltel Euskadi has achieved a number of great successes during its time in the peloton.

Euskaltel-Euskadi's last 18 Grand Tour stage victories included three Tour de France stage victories, with Egoi Martinez and Sanchez winning the polka-dot jersey in the 2004 and 2005 Mayo and Inigo Landalse won the overall at the Dauphiné Libéré, and Sánchez won the 2012 Iturria.

Last year, Fundación-Euskadi introduced Sergio Iguita to the European peloton, and the young Colombian moved to EF Pro Cycling in the spring; in 2020, the team was transferred from the defunct Euskadi Murias team to 2019 absorbed five riders, including Vuelta a España stage winner Mikel Iturria.

Veteran sprinter Juan José Lobato and 2013 Tour de Lavenir winner Rubén Fernández have also signed with the team, which hopes to receive its first wildcard invitation to the Vuelta this season.