![\"Iv\u00e1n](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/romeo-movistar-andalucia-11254286546.jpg@webp.webp\")
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Some riders race on the bike. Others, like Romeo, live on the bike. His is a vocation. \u201cIf they gave me two weeks\u2019 holiday, I\u2019d go ride with my mates, listen to music, and I get paid for that. It\u2019s beautiful, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not a canned line, but a statement of principles. Romeo speaks of cycling as a way of life: \u201cI think it\u2019s a very hard sport, but in terms of quality of life I\u2019d say it\u2019s very good.\u201d Do you enjoy racing? The answer is as honest as it is revealing: \u201cIn a race yes, it depends how it\u2019s going, but it\u2019s more complicated. And when things go well I\u2019d say sometimes you enjoy them even less, because you\u2019re very stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The profile: 1.93m and a former world champion<\/p>\n
He stands 1.93m and is a former under-23 world time trial champion. And though he shuns grand comparisons, the template inevitably recalls Miguel Indur\u00e1in. \u201cIf I manage to do a tenth of what Miguel did, I think that would be a very good career,\u201d he says with humility.<\/p>\n
His idol, however, was always Alejandro Valverde: \u201cMy idol has always been ‘Bala’, even if he has nothing to do with me as a rider.\u201d Romeo knows what he is and what he isn\u2019t. He knows pure climbing is not his natural terrain, but he doesn\u2019t hide: \u201cYou can go well uphill. You can\u2019t go like the very best, that for now seems very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stages or Grand Tours?<\/p>\n
The question is inevitable: are we looking at a future Grand Tour winner, or a dominator of classics and week-long races?<\/p>\n
His reply shows a clarity beyond his years. \u201cMost likely week-long races and classics. I\u2019d like to say the other, but I think that would be lying. I\u2019d have to improve a lot to be able to contest Grand Tours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe level has changed massively and it\u2019s very hard.\u201d When asked about the dream race, he doesn\u2019t hesitate: \u201cAn elite world championship is the biggest thing there is. It has a different aura. And the jersey is the most beautiful in sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those who have seen him race know Romeo doesn\u2019t hedge. He attacks. He makes mistakes. He cries if needed. But he never hides. He admits it himself: \u201cThat\u2019s how I am. For better and for worse. I set goals that are often out of reach, but I also know how to shake off that bad feeling as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
He doesn\u2019t believe in changing his nature. And in cycling that\u2019s increasingly calibrated to the millimetre, that is competitive gold.<\/p>\n
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Iv\u00e1n Romeo won the general classification of the 2026 Vuelta a Andaluc\u00eda<\/p>\n