Iván Romeo’s frustration at his bad luck at Movistar Team: “It hasn’t been a great month and everything is going wrong”
Cycling
The start of O Gran Camiño 2026 left a bitter taste for Iván Romeo, who arrived ambitious and in good shape but was once again hampered by bad luck. The Movistar Team rider did not hide his disappointment after a puncture that completely wrecked his ride on a stage he had ringed in red.
“My goal this week was the time trial, and when you puncture everything goes down the drain,” he summed up bluntly on A Pie de Puerto.
Romeo explained that, at the moment of the incident, there was no point in maintaining a competitive effort, as any chance of a win or a benchmark result had vanished. “So it didn’t make sense to keep pushing if the win was already gone,” he added.
The Spaniard stressed that he had prepared specifically for the time trial, aware it was one of the race’s key opportunities. However, the outcome was the worst possible for his interests. The puncture not only cost him time but also broke the rhythm of a day when he expected to test himself against the best.
“I had the splits, I was saving quite a bit for the final sector,” he explained, acknowledging a plan to build into the effort. But the mechanical forced him to rewrite the script entirely. In efforts this short and explosive, any setback is a point of no return.
A month marked by injuries and lack of continuity
Beyond the TT, Romeo put his current situation into context, shaped by a physically difficult month. He explained that a previous crash at Paris–Nice compromised his subsequent preparation and triggered a chain of issues that have affected his performance.
“After the crash I was practically three weeks without training, I messed up a knee, and I only did one hard session the week before coming here,” he said. In a sport as demanding as professional cycling, that lack of continuity quickly turns into performance gaps that are hard to bridge.
“At the level cycling is today, if you’re practically two weeks without training and then have two weeks to prepare, whatever the race, it’s very hard to be at 100%,” he reflected candidly.
Conflicting feelings on a day that promised a lot
Despite the outcome, Romeo admitted his sensations on the bike were not bad before the puncture. He had planned his effort carefully, trusting he could improve in the final section, where he usually performs well. The time trial, however, gave him no margin to unfold that plan.
“I thought that with the level here I could be up there,” he said, hinting that confidence was present, though tempered by his recent physical state.
Iván Romeo has had little luck in 2026 with Movistar Team.
Resignation and eyes forward
The rider’s final assessment was one of contained frustration. More than anger at a poor performance, Romeo conveyed the feeling that external factors have weighed too heavily on his recent form. “Between a not-so-good month and everything going wrong, it’s a real blow,” he concluded.
Another setback in a tough learning phase for the young rider, who keeps seeking continuity and consistency in an increasingly demanding calendar.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- 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
- 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
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