With the recent premiere of Movistar Team's Netflix documentary 'The Least Thought Day', more details emerge regarding the dramatic ending to Miguel Ángel López 2021 Vuelta a España and also to his connections with the Spanish team.
"My first mistake was not to be up there when I needed to be, the second was Enric…saying 'Miguel don't drive behind'," Lopez said in the documentary. I was confused, they told me not to push on, because there would be attacks from behind and we were still all close. But they practically prevented me from having an opportunity to fight. It felt like lost faith in me very quickly."
It was the 20th and penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España and Movistar had Enric Mas and Miguel Ángel López sitting second and third in the overall classification. After a flurry of attacks in the stage into Castro de Herville, López found himself distanced from the main GC group and no longer came back. He abandoned the race shortly after with bad temperament, and requested to break his contract with the team.
"I was angry because I lost confidence at that point. Something had been lost... It's been shown and re-shown that they don't know how to handle its leaders. It didn't work with Nairo, Landa, and it didn't work with me. I told [Patxi Vila] I just want them to throw me out of the team," he said.
Sure enough the news soon came of Lopez new contractual situation which saw him free. The Colombian re-signed with his former Astana Qazaqstan Team where he has so far been getting modest results this year, with a third place in the overall classification of the Vuelta a Andalucia as a highlight. He is set to ride the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France later this year, where he will be ambitioning high-level victories and strong performances in the GC classifications.
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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