As Team Pitpass, led by Tony Purnell contests the Haute Route in the Pyrenees, it has been revealed that Fernando Alonso is to buy Spanish cycling team Euskaltel Euskadi.

The two-time world champion's enthusiasm for cycling is well known; apart from including cycling in his daily training routine, he has always felt a special passion for this particular world on two wheels. From an early age, the Spaniard has adopted the values of the sport; values which are an integral part of his personal and professional life philosophy.

With Alonso - seen here cycling the Nurburgring this year with Marussia's Rodolfo Gonzalez - having announced the news on Twitter, a subsequent statement on the team's website reads:

Enthusiasm, seriousness, sacrifice, evolution and transparency are the words on which this team will build its foundations. Alonso is thrilled to be forming an active part in cycling and to be able to improve the image of this sport. Transparency and "zero tolerance" will therefore be the fundamental pillars on which the foundations will be laid for this exciting sports project.

The new team will honour the contracts of those cyclists currently under contract to Euskaltel Euskadi for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The wish is to provide continuity and grow the team little by little, incorporating top names from the cycling pack with the intent of a moderate transition towards an international project whilst medium to long term, there is the firm intention of becoming a global model.

Fernando Alonso, conscious of the economic difficulties within the sports world in general, wishes to convey his enormous gratitude to Euskaltel for their involvement and support during all these years, having transformed the orange team into an international cycling icon. He would also like to thank Euskaltel for their good will and predisposition during the negotiations which have been conducted discreetly and cordially with the sole intention of saving the team. At the same time, the Spanish racing driver would like to thank the Basque fans, who at all times and in spite of the difficulties, have supported the team. Fans who Fernando would like to ask to continue supporting this new project with the usual passion they transmit to the racers.

As of today we will start to work against the clock, with maximum effort and humility, and transferring the best of our professional experience, in order to be capable of starting the first races of the 2014 season with a new team, full of desire and with a fighting spirit."

While no details have been made public, it is said by sources in Spain that Alonso's rescue package could be in the region of six million euros (£5m).

By the way, Team Pitpass consists of Felix Barker (at 19 the youngest in the race), Tom Vickery (27), Rob Jackson (47) and Tony Purnell (55) all from Cambridge. David Emery (38) from Surrey and John Stuart and John Winsor, both from Boulder, USA.