“That is the attitude” – Ivan Romeo earns praise despite Tour de France heartbreak

Ivan Romeo’s Tour de France took a brutal turn yesterday when a crash derailed his late stage attack and robbed him of a chance to fight for a stage victory. The Movistar Team rider had been in the thick of the action, animating the race once again in what’s been a breakout debut Tour. While the pain of missing out was visible, Eurosport’s commentary team was unanimous: Romeo’s talent, temperament, mark him as one to watch.

Alberto Contador, two-time Tour winner, was unequivocal in his praise. “It is not only what we have seen on the road, but also what we have heard with his statements and also when we have seen him very angry after the races for not winning, that is the attitude, that is what a winner has to have, a rider with the desire to achieve goals and achieve great things and I think Ivan Romeo has both, both attitude and talent,” Contador said.

“He has spectacular riding qualities, he has that vision that you either have it or you don't, and we don't know if today he would have ended up winning or not, but of course he has many great things to do in this sport."

Former Tour stage winner Eduardo Chozas urged Romeo to ease the pressure he’s placing on himself so early in his career. “But he doesn't have to put pressure on himself, Induráin at 20 years old was going to learn in the Tour, he has tried this year, the team has helped him, he has been in breakaways, but he doesn't have to put so much pressure on himself. The important thing is that he's going to finish the Tour and he's learned what the Tour is, that it's a very hard race."

Javier Ares, Eurosport's stage narrator and fellow Valladolid native, made no secret of his admiration for Romeo and his disappointment in the crash. “I am left with the misery and pain of the accident of Ivan Romeo because one has his little heart, he is a right eye that one can have in the peloton, but above all a cyclist who is walking a lot, who is doing his military service in the first Tour de France at 21 years old and showing a solvency that he already showed in that magnificent victory in the Dauphiné recently, that he is a rider of a fantastic level.

“It's not just the pain of the fall, he will have a thousand more chances to look for the victory, it's the feeling that there is an important cyclist there to win many things and today he had that opportunity. Winning a stage in the Tour at 21 is not so easy. He's a rider who will give us a lot of joy, we'll keep the positive part.”