“Trying to win a Tour stage” - One of Movistar's brightest talents aims high for 2026

Iván Romeo has cemented his status as one of Movistar Team’s brightest prospects. At just age 22 and heading into his fourth season with the squad, the Spaniard expects to take a step forward in 2026. His winter has laid the groundwork for what is going to be an ambitious year, however with a great base towards such goals.

“It’s been a very good pre-season, all about moving up a level. I worked on things I still needed to improve, which is normal at my age… now I’m a slightly better version of myself,” Romeo says of the months before racing. He has focused on consistency and endurance over longer race distances: “We’re a long way from being the best in the world, so it’s about being a bit more solid, more reliable on longer, more fatiguing stages… I think I’ll be much better there. I always like to be a little better each year, even if it gets harder… As long as there’s progression, we’re on the right track.”

Romeo approaches his first races, like Valencia and Mallorca, with intent: “I like to start seasons well, I naturally hit good form early in the year and I think I’ll try to make the most of it. Both here and in Mallorca, we’re taking a really strong team and the goal is to win one of the ten days we race.”

The team has also added key reinforcements, including Cian Uitjdebroeks, Juan Pedro López, Raúl García Pierna and Roger Adrià. Of the Belgian, Romeo says: “He’s going really well, his arrival is very positive… He’s been on top teams and maybe didn’t get as many chances as he deserved, but he’s a superb rider. I’m the same age and we raced the Tour de l’Avenir together when he won (2022, ed.), so I know how good he is. He’s also better than ever, so I think it’ll be a very good year for him.”

On García Pierna, a very similar type of rider, Romeo has high gopes of: “Raúl is at an incredible level, and he’s improving a lot towards a rider profile that I’m not sure many people expect, but I think Raúl can be a surprise this year. The way he evolved at the end of last season was outrageous.”

Romeo acknowledges his role has grown and he’s happy to take responsibility: “It’s clear I have more responsibility and more importance in the team each year. It’s something I like, it’s what I want… I feel comfortable, happy with how I’m responding within the team, and anything that comes from performing well I’ll welcome with open arms.”

As for his 2026 targets, Romeo is clear: “Getting better every year is my way of life, trying to be a little better every day… we’ll need to consolidate that through the season and results-wise it’s the same: improve on last year, try to take more wins than last year, wins with more weight. I also want to settle a score with the Tour, try to win a stage — that would be the biggest goal of the year… I hope to do it at a higher level to take more victories.”

The Spaniard has already been active at the Classica Camp de Morvedre, his season debut, where he finished fourth on the day. In the Challenge Mallorca he will often be present in the peloton and use this as not only a set of opportunities to take his first win of the year, but also work towards the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana. Afterwards he has Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie dialed down on his schedule, and a Tour de France return is also set.

Reflecting on his first Tour experience, Romeo admits: “From the Tour, in general, so many things… the Tour changes you completely. I hope this year, with that knowledge, I can do it better, understand the bad days and save energy for the ones that really matter… Two days earlier I’d had a terrible time on the Loze stage (stage 18 of the Tour, where Ben O'Connor took the victory, ed.), I was sick of it," he joked. "I came into the corner way too hot and crashed.”

Finally, he sums up his season goals with clarity: “I’d ask for no serious injuries, that my brother (Sergio Romeo, who races for Kern Pharma's under-23 team, ed.) has no serious injuries either, and we’ll take care of the rest. Let it be a better season than the last and keep the streak going.”