'New Contador' Pablo Torres on Grand Tour goals and soon-to-be teammate Tadej Pogacar - "The way he rides, his aggressiveness... it's impressive"
Cycling
Pablo Torres signed a few days ago with UAE Team Emirates until 2030, the current longest contract in pro cycling (if you exclude the 'lifetime' contract of Wout van Aert, which doesn't have a specific limit). The Spaniard, who turned 18 yesterday, is the great jewel of Spanish cycling and is already being compared to Alberto Contador and Miguel Induráin. This year he was second in the Giro d'Italia Next Gen and a Tour de l'Avenir in which he achieved two stage wins and came close to the final victory with an incredible raid on the Colle delle Finèstre.
Near his home he gave a more than interesting interview to Daniel Miranda, of the newspaper AS, in which he talks about past and future with hopes and does not hide that his ambitions are very high (he does not hide the words Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España). He also obviously talks about Tadej Pogacar who will be his teammate from next season and whom he obviously admires and describes as "impressive".
Strengths as a cyclist
"My strong point as a rider is the long climbs, but I think I can defend myself more or less on all terrains. I'm trying to improve in time trials, and I've made good progress. Rain and cold are conditions I like to ride in."
Career ambitions
"To be a reference cyclist, to win the three grand tours... for proximity, I'd love to win La Vuelta and the Tour, but the Giro too, obviously." Naturally, it is not the best of environments to be so young and have fans put such high expectations on a certain rider, but as we've seen with Remco Evenepoel we can see that some riders learn to handle and thrive even in the most extreme pressure.
Tadej Pogacar
Torres will be one of many young talents within UAE, fruit of the team's scouting and massive financial capacity. At only 18 Torres will make his World Tour debut, already as a climber that many will keep an eye on for results. He will be joining the likes of Isaac Del Toro, Juan Ayuso and Tadej Pogacar who have had similar start in pro cycling.
"He's a cyclist I admire a lot," he says of the World Champion. "In addition, his explosion just coincided with the time when I started riding my bike, when he competed in his first Vuelta (2019, ed.). I started to really get interested in cycling and I used to watch on TV a 20-year-old kid who went to a race with the mentality of winning it. I haven't had time to see many riders before Tadej either, but the way he rides, his aggressiveness... it's impressive."
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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