"The ones he is, it’s often a waste of time" - Iván Romeo honest about avoiding competition with Tadej Pogacar
Cycling
Iván Romeo is no prospect: he is a reality who has already started winning. His stage win and overall at the Vuelta a Andalucía confirmed what the peloton already knew: Spanish cycling has a complete rider, a world-class time trialist, and a competitor with insatiable hunger.
On COPE’s El Partidazo mic, the rider from Valladolid offered more than headlines. He showed character. The season has barely begun and Romeo has already thrown his arms aloft. After Juan Ayuso’s win in the Algarve, the spotlight also swung to Movistar Team’s youngster, who at 22, blends ambition with a mindset that captures attention quite easily.
“Starting the year on the right foot, as you say,” he sums up calmly, still digesting the impact of a 'pretty intense' week in Andalucía. He now lives in Andorra, though the cold, he says, is still a Valladolid trademark.
Some riders race on the bike. Others, like Romeo, live on the bike. His is a vocation. “If they gave me two weeks’ holiday, I’d go ride with my mates, listen to music, and I get paid for that. It’s beautiful, really.”
It’s not a canned line, but a statement of principles. Romeo speaks of cycling as a way of life: “I think it’s a very hard sport, but in terms of quality of life I’d say it’s very good.” Do you enjoy racing? The answer is as honest as it is revealing: “In a race yes, it depends how it’s going, but it’s more complicated. And when things go well I’d say sometimes you enjoy them even less, because you’re very stressed.”
The profile: 1.93m and a former world champion
He stands 1.93m and is a former under-23 world time trial champion. And though he shuns grand comparisons, the template inevitably recalls Miguel Induráin. “If I manage to do a tenth of what Miguel did, I think that would be a very good career,” he says with humility.
His idol, however, was always Alejandro Valverde: “My idol has always been 'Bala', even if he has nothing to do with me as a rider.” Romeo knows what he is and what he isn’t. He knows pure climbing is not his natural terrain, but he doesn’t hide: “You can go well uphill. You can’t go like the very best, that for now seems very difficult.”
Stages or Grand Tours?
The question is inevitable: are we looking at a future Grand Tour winner, or a dominator of classics and week-long races?
His reply shows a clarity beyond his years. “Most likely week-long races and classics. I’d like to say the other, but I think that would be lying. I’d have to improve a lot to be able to contest Grand Tours.”
“The level has changed massively and it’s very hard.” When asked about the dream race, he doesn’t hesitate: “An elite world championship is the biggest thing there is. It has a different aura. And the jersey is the most beautiful in sport.”
Those who have seen him race know Romeo doesn’t hedge. He attacks. He makes mistakes. He cries if needed. But he never hides. He admits it himself: “That’s how I am. For better and for worse. I set goals that are often out of reach, but I also know how to shake off that bad feeling as quickly as possible.”
He doesn’t believe in changing his nature. And in cycling that’s increasingly calibrated to the millimetre, that is competitive gold.
Iván Romeo won the general classification of the 2026 Vuelta a Andalucía
The Pogacar era
To speak about cycling’s present is to speak about Tadej Pogacar. And Romeo doesn’t dodge the elephant in the room.
“The races he’s in are something hard to explain. You know it’s going to be practically impossible. He controls everything and he also has the best team. When he wants, he’s going to. Sometimes you try to pick races he’s not doing because in the ones he is, it’s often a waste of time.”
Modern cycling is nutrition, data, and 24-hour control. Romeo lays it out naturally: “We’re pretty much robots during the season.” An app to log every meal, constant weight monitoring, meticulous planning... But there’s room for pleasure too: “Two or three days a week some treat slips in. Usually a pastry," describing how he usually burns 5,000 calories a day in heavy weeks.
Jorge BorregueroWriter
Jorge Borreguero is a journalist with a degree from the Complutense University of Madrid and has been a writer for Cyclinguptodate and Ciclismoaldia since early 2023. In this role, he has played a key part in the evolution of the website, particularly as a specialist covering Movistar Team. He regularly writes race reports, analytical pieces, and in-depth features about the team, and has conducted exclusive interviews and attended multiple team presentations, providing readers with firsthand insights into one of the leading professional cycling squads.
Throughout his career, Jorge has maintained a strong focus on sports journalism, gaining experience across a variety of disciplines, including basketball and football. However, his current work is almost entirely dedicated to cycling, contributing extensively to Ciclismoaldia and its sister website Cyclinguptodate. For these platforms, he combines thorough research with detailed reporting to deliver high-quality content, ranging from race previews and results to expert analysis of teams and riders.
Jorge’s reporting is marked by accuracy, depth, and a commitment to providing readers with reliable and authoritative information. His direct engagement with teams, athletes, and events ensures that his coverage reflects firsthand knowledge and professional insight. Through his work, he has established himself as a trusted voice in professional cycling journalism, bridging the gap between the sport and its global audience while maintaining rigorous editorial standards.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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