"If people don’t like how we celebrate, they better get used to it" - Iván Romeo puts his foot down and takes Vuelta a Andalucia title
Cycling
The Vuelta a Andalucía 2026 is already in the books. For Movistar Team, it marked a return to an overall classification win after three years. The Spanish squad celebrated Iván Romeo’s triumph, sealed in the yellow jersey with a strong ride on the final stage, defending his lead after an attack from Tom Pidcock, who took the stage in Lucena.
The rider from Valladolid took over the lead after winning stage 2. From then on, his teammates kept him safe day after day, right through to the finale in Lucena. The two ascents of Alto de la Primera Cruz were tricky, yet the team managed the stage with authority.
At the finish, no one could stop Tom Pidcock from winning, but Iván Romeo crossed in the chase group just 12 seconds back, alongside Andreas Leknessund (his closest GC rival), in sixth place. The finish left him on cloud nine, as his post-race comments made clear.
“A very beautiful day, I’ll remember this race all my life: my first overall title. Honestly, it was a big goal for this season, and sometimes it comes when you least expect it,” Iván Romeo began. The Spanish rouleur benefitted from his aggressive tactics, and a strong set of climbing performances in the second half of the race to defend his yellow jersey.
“Without a time trial maybe it wasn’t what I had in mind, but my form was excellent. And the team today was not a 10, but an 11. I did do nothing else but suffer on the last climb to win the overall,” added Iván Romeo, admitting he hadn’t initially targeted the general classification at this Vuelta a Andalucía.
“The plan was to stay with Andreas Leknessund, who was my closest rival on GC. I knew that, in my current shape, it would be hard for the others to take much time. I had 51 seconds on Pidcock, and when he attacked with 5,5 km to go I didn’t have the legs to respond. I knew I had to crest the climb more or less close, and that’s what I did.”
It's a big step for the 22-year old, who takes the first GC win of his career here; and adds to his already impressive palmarès as a second-year elite professional. “We worked a lot this winter to make a big step up this season. The goal was to reach this level and fight with the best. So far everything is going that way, and we hope it continues,” he continued.
Iván Romeo, winner of the 2026 Vuelta a Andalucía
“Swipe” at the Movistar Team haters
Finally, Iván Romeo had a message for those who, in recent weeks, have criticized how he and his teammates celebrate victories:
“In this team we’re all mates. If I hadn’t won today, Jefferson [Alveiro] Cepeda could have because he was up the road. But he devoted himself to closing every gap perfectly. That’s who we are, a tight unit, and if people don’t like how we celebrate, they better get used to it,” concluded the 2026 Vuelta a Andalucía winner.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin is wuite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
- dude, Lemond never even was in the same race as Armstrong. He throws all these aspersions on other American riders who might usurp his throne as the greatest ever American racer. He doesn't say a single thing about (foreign) dopers who he actually raced against. Biggest douchebag move ever. I used to revere that guy, now I despise him. His actions are so weird.fatsupermodel02-11-2026
- This is just stupid, You do what you are good at not what you are weak at. He has no results to speak of when he participated. Even Froome, Conatdor had very little. With Pogi there he wont win none of the classics. he is already 30+ with a few years left at the top. It takes years to get good at classics. Is that really worth the effort???abstractengineer02-11-2026
- Sure, little fella.awp02-11-2026
- You'll be the ongoing joke of 2027 with anything you post here!frieders302-11-2026
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