Japanese WorldTour veteran Yukiya Arashiro hopes for "at least one more year in the peloton, although it may be too late"

The Saitama Criterium was Yukiya Arashiro's last outing in the Bahrain - Victorious jersey. After 16 seasons as a pro, the 40-year-old Japanese rider is still not ready to retire and the (second) oldest rider in WorldTour peloton hopes to find a new home for 2025.

Arashiro will definitely say goodbye to Bahrain at the end of the season. But the Japanese rider tells Marca that he wants to stay "at least one more year in the peloton." That's why the cyclist is already negotiating with several teams, "including a Spanish one, although it may be too late."

Yukiya was the master of ceremonies at the tenth edition of the Saitama Criterium. "It's lucky that we've been here for a decade now. I haven't really raced much in my country, so racing here is always good news," says Arashiro. He didn't get to start in any Grand tours this year but has competed in "the Games, which was one of the goals."

Bahrain in general had pretty disappointing season where nothing much went as planned. Arashiro doesn't hold a grudge against the team for not offering him a new contract as he recognizes that the team "needs a leader to be able to score points" to ideally bring as his replacement.

In the eight seasons with Bahrain - Victorious, Arashiro got to spend a lot of time with Pello Bilbao, who "is one of the most professional cyclists I know, here on holiday he goes out to train at 6am" and also ex-teammate Mikel Landa. It's the Spanish riders who left a huge impression on the Japanese rider.

And it's quality and depth of the Spanish cycling school that makes Arashiro slightly envious: "Spain is not like Japan, because there are talents of all ages there and here there is a lot of distance between the cyclists." Despite the passion of the fans, Japan still finds it very difficult to fight for important victories on road. "There is still a lot to do here," he warns.