Movistar teammate very confident in Einer Rubio's Giro d'Italia: "Why not be ambitious and think about podium"
Cycling
Movistar Team have had a good start to this year's Giro d'Italia. Despite the modest lineup, the Spanish team has already managed to win a stage with Pelayo Sánchez - who compliments the team leader Einer Rubio and believes the Colombian has evolved over the past year.
He talks about how he hopes that another opportunity to win will come his way and that after the victory the team's main objective is to support the Colombian: "The Giro is the race of opportunities. It's very crazy and there are many breakaways," Sánchez said in an interview with AS. "The first one we had is already taken advantage of. We'll see if there are any more. It's also time to support Einer, who is having a fantastic race. Let's see if we can get him as high as possible in the overall".
Read also
The Asturian believes that what the Colombian climber is doing in these first days of the Corsa Rosa is not the result of his form, but of his improvement as a cyclist in recent months:
"Einer's legs are not just good, he has made a big leap in quality. He's a great climber and last year he won in Crans Montana, a stage that not anyone wins. Now he has proven to be solid in the mountains and to have a level at the level of the best climbers. He may have that handicap of the time trial, but with his legs he can opt for something nice. He has a good chance," the Spaniard says of his teammate.
Read also
However, with a view to a possible podium in the overall, Sánchez argues that Rubio must be calm and let things develop little by little and without pressure:
"We mustn't put Einer under more pressure than necessary. He's in the fight for the overall and we're going to try to go for the maximum. I have a lot of confidence in him and I think he will do well. We'll see if he can be in the top five and why not be ambitious and think about podium positions. It will be the road that will tell what his place is," he concluded.
Read also

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.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- So far, a good series about riders before my time, even if the text feels AI generated like so much on this site. About the rider, he seems like one of many who are active fan favorites but don’t survive in the stories of cycling, a few decades later - I didn’t really know anything about him and this was a good read, thank you!RidesHills15-11-2026
- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
- You do? My mother grew up around Bleiburg (Pliberk), across the border in Austria . My grandparents lived close to the train station in Bleiburg, and I spent a lot of the 70s and 80s there. The "Jugo" train of my youth went to Dravograd or Maribor, exotic places (behind the wall) at the time. What a moment that was, the 10 days war of '91 - times sure have changed.RidesHills15-11-2026
- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
- I think Roglic could have beaten Sepp. not Jonas. I was referring to Sepp.mij15-11-2026
- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
Loading
🇮🇹 #Giroditalia Cubierta la foto de Pompeya con @FndoGaviria y la presentación de equipos, nos encaminamos al tercer final en alto de esta 'Corsa Rosa'. Bocca della Selva (17,9 km al 5,6%), un habitual de los entrenos de @Einerrubio1 en Europa, cierra un día muy sinuoso, con
1 Comments









