It’s official: Miguel Ángel López and Movistar will part ways from October 1st
It's official: Miguel Ángel López and Movistar will part ways from October 1st
After weeks of rumours following his dramatic Vuelta departure, Team Movistar has announced that Miguel Ángel López will in fact be leaving the team before the end of this season.
“Abarca Sports announces today the resolution by mutual agreement of the contract of the rider Miguel Ángel López, as of next October 1st,” the team said in a brief press release shared on Twitter. “The team thanks Miguel Ángel for his efforts and results throughout this season, and wishes him good luck for the future.”
— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) September 18, 2021
A few hours after the team’s announcement, López shared the same image on Twitter, with the caption: “It is the best decision we could make…finally…thanks to everyone at Movistar Team for the opportunity…”
López transferred to the Spanish outfit from Team Astana in time for the 2021 season, enlisted for his attacking mentality and to bolster the team’s Grand Tour capabilities. In his nine months in the Movistar jersey, the Colombian has won a stage and the overall title at the Ruta del Sol, the Mont Ventoux Challenge, and stage 18 of the Vuelta a España while sitting third overall.
It all fell apart two days later on stage 20 of the Vuelta – the last day López raced – when he climbed off after getting caught behind a split in the favourites group. The details of the incident took a long time to clear up, and even so, the story remains somewhat mirky. What we do know is that neither López nor the team were happy with the way things played out and rumours that the Colombian might break contract, despite his recent renewal, began to swirl before the sun set on stage 20.
There’s no news yet where he may ride next year, but his old team Astana is the frontrunner.
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