Laboral Kutxa-Euskadi have signed Spanish under-23 road champion Ayala Serrano on a two-year contract covering the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
The rider from Larraul in Gipuzkoa will step up from Cantabria Deporte-Río Miera after two seasons at under-23 level. Serrano becomes Laboral Kutxa-Euskadi’s second confirmed recruit for 2027 after Maite Urteaga, strengthening the team’s long-term investment in young Basque talent.
Her move has also been added to the women’s cycling transfers hub, which tracks confirmed signings, contract extensions and credible transfer reports across the professional peloton.
Spanish under-23 title confirms her progress
Serrano began cycling at nine years old with Oriako Txirrindulari Eskola before developing through the junior ranks with Limousin.
She represented Spain at the 2023 and 2024 UCI Road World Championships as a junior, gaining international experience before joining Cantabria Deporte-Río Miera for her first two under-23 seasons.
Her most important result arrived in June 2026, when she won the Spanish under-23 road race championship. The victory confirmed the progress Laboral Kutxa-Euskadi had already identified while following her development.
The team had invited Serrano to its January training camp in Alicante, giving both parties an opportunity to assess how she adapted to the professional environment before agreeing the two-year contract.
Serrano identifies herself as a climber
Serrano described joining the leading Basque women’s team as a source of pride and identified climbing as the area in which she expects to develop.
“Wearing the colours of Laboral Kutxa-Euskadi for the next few seasons fills me with pride,” Serrano said. “As the home team, it has always been a reference point for me and a structure that I have watched grow.
“I am enormously happy that they have placed their trust in me. As a cyclist, I consider myself a climber and, away from the bike, someone who works consistently to achieve what she wants and always tries to give her best.”
Her immediate targets are deliberately measured. Serrano wants to learn how to compete at professional level, support her teammates and accumulate experience before placing greater emphasis on individual results.
Racing Itzulia Women would carry particular meaning. Laboral Kutxa-Euskadi are closely associated with the Basque stage race and competed aggressively on home roads during the 2026 Itzulia Women.
“You always dream of racing the biggest events on the calendar, but riding the Itzulia at home would be something very special,” Serrano said.
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Photo Credit: Getty
Laboral Kutxa continue building around local development
Sports director Ion Lazkano said Serrano’s conduct during the Alicante training camp reinforced the team’s belief that she was ready to step into the professional structure.
“She was already with us at the training camp in Alicante last winter and adapted perfectly to the dynamics of the group,” Lazkano said.
“We have followed her performances very closely, and winning the gold medal at the Spanish under-23 championship demonstrates that she is a rider who is continuing to grow.
“She is a local rider, an Euskaldun, and we are proud that she will make the step up to professional level with our team.”
The signing follows the same development-first approach that brought riders such as Irati Aranguren into the professional squad.
Laboral Kutxa have also added experience from outside the Basque system in recent recruitment windows, including Marjolein van ’t Geloof and Tiril Jørgensen. Serrano’s arrival represents the other side of that strategy, creating a direct pathway for promising local riders while giving them experienced teammates to learn from.
That pathway could become increasingly important if reported moves elsewhere in the squad are completed. Team leader Usoa Ostolaza has been linked with a move to FDJ-Suez, potentially opening further opportunities for Laboral Kutxa’s next generation of Basque climbers.
Serrano currently combines cycling with studying for a Primary Education degree at the University of the Basque Country.
She thanked her family, friends, coach and former teammates for supporting her development, while also acknowledging the role played by Oriako Limousin and Cantabria Deporte-Río Miera in preparing her for the professional peloton.
The two-year agreement gives Serrano time to adapt without immediate pressure. For Laboral Kutxa-Euskadi, it secures one of the most promising young riders produced by the Basque development system.
