Movistar talent hopes to follow in footsteps of Isaac del Toro at the Tour Down Under: "I'm delighted to be making my WorldTour debut in the same race as him"
Cycling
Diego Pescador's debut in the WorldTour has not been long in coming. The 20-year-old Colombian signed with Movistar Team in the last cycling market as one of the great promises of cycling. The Spanish team has taken him immediately to the first big race of 2025 - the Australian Tour Down Under.
The Colombian climber gave his impressions of the TDU in an interview with Cyclismactu and made it clear that he's not here to ride around: "I have prepared for the heat in Australia by training at home in similar temperatures. I feel well trained, I have good legs and I had a good feeling during the opening criterium on Saturday afternoon. That gives me hope to be useful to the team in this Tour Down Under. I'm here first and foremost to learn a lot, to do a series of race days and I'm looking forward to the Willunga Hill stage (stage five on Saturday) because it has terrain I like."
In an ideal scenario, he would've liked to follow in the footsteps of certain UAE Team Emirates rider made great strides during his debut in Australia in 2024: "Last year I watched this race on television and I think of Isaac Del Toro, who has always been a source of inspiration for me. I'm delighted to be making my WorldTour debut in the same race as him a year later. I'm not saying I'm necessarily going to do as well as him, I want to see how it goes day by day, how my body will react to the efforts at this level of competition, but first and foremost I want to be at the service of my team."
The Movistar Team rider reveals part of the calendar he will have after the Emirati race, which includes several races in Spain. "For this first season in the WorldTour, I have high hopes. I hope it will be a great year and why not take one opportunity or another a little later in the season on a personal basis. When I come back from Australia, I will participate in the Vuelta a Murcia, the Clásica de Almería and O Gran Camiño. I have a lot of races on my program and I'm looking forward to the more mountainous races in the hope, above all, that I'll be lucky," he concludes.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- 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
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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