The rise of Iván Romeo 🌈
The behind-the-scenes story of how Movistar's patience paid off with the young Spaniard now on top at the World Championships
In fair Valladolid where we lay our scene.
It’s early in the 2021 season and Iván Romeo has already attracted attention from several WorldTour and U23 teams.
Just 18, the young Spanish talent has not yet won the junior national TT and road championships that he’d claim later in the year, however, the word on the domestic scene is that the softly-spoken rider with wavy brown hair is the real deal, and Movistar are on the case.
Within weeks of initial calls and text messages, several meetings are scheduled between Movistar’s top brass and Romeo’s entourage. First up, the rider’s agent Giuseppe Acquadro, and then with former pro rider Samuel Sanchez, who manages the MMR-Academy, the team Romeo races for. During that process, there are discussions with the rider himself, and of course, his family, but soon enough Alex Merckx is brought into the picture.