Pello Bilbao: "I came late to cycling, at 20 I was on a different wave"

• Indurain When he defeated the Holy Alliance: ''He spoke little, a gesture was enough'

Martina is born in June and then

(Gernika, 1990), will take a break.

"We are going to have many races, but the birth of a daughter is something that may only happen once in a lifetime. I want to be there", admits from Budapest a few hours before facing the Giro one of the animators of the national peloton, who comes after a fireworks start to the course: he beat

in the Itzulia and came close to the final victory in the Tour of the Alps.

It is, along with

, the great asset of Bahrain.

In the Alps, Landa worked for you.

How do you face the Giro? In principle, the last responsibility for the general falls on Mikel.

But we are not going to focus 100% there either.

We have the podium in mind, but along the way we will fight for the stages.

We have a full team, including

for sprints.

We don't want to waste anything, we will race true to our style, aggressively, looking for the race ourselves.He finished 5th (2020), 6th (2018), won stages.

Do you dream of the podium? The jersey is a dream.

For me, who has always had a special connection with this race, it would be something great.

Get dressed in pink, at least for a few days.

But it is not an obsession, if it comes, it will come.

Arrived safely.

I don't know if it's better or worse than other times, but I'm sure I'll finish well. What's so special about the Giro? I always feel more comfortable competing here.

It is a more open race compared to the Tour, without much control, where the cyclist has more room for improvisation.

It is cycling towards the origins.

There is more room for surprise, chances of breaking the script, the runner can have more fun.

Who do you see in the fight? Not as much of a difference as a Pogacar or a Roglic can make.

Is

, there is Landa.

And above all,

, which brings a very powerful block with the Ineos.

with many possibilities

: if he is in the general classification in the last week, he is very dangerous.

himself .

He will be close to taking the jersey in the first week. How is your relationship with Landa?

Is there a good personal feeling? We've known each other since youth.

There we competed against each other.

Our careers have become intertwined.

In amateur we share a team, Naturgas.

Later we met again at Euskaltel.

Then our paths parted again and we came together again here in Bahrain.

We have shared many moments, but always with good harmony and desire to work together.

In fact, Landa was one of my motivations to come to Bahrain.

I wanted to team up with him, work for him.

We are good teammates and, as has been seen in the Alps, when he has to lend a hand, he is capable of doing a magnificent job.

Just as I have given myself so many times for him.

We don't have any problems and it's the key to good vibes in our team. What's it like to beat Alaphilippe in a sprint?

I didn't want to fail, I was looking for her.

He was the one who had the most intention that day.

That insistence, pursuing him to the end, gave me the chance to believe in myself.

You might think that it wasn't the best option to play the sprint with Alaphilippe, but it was the only one left after trying it several times.

You never know.

That insistence, pursuing him to the end, gave me the chance to believe in myself.

You might think that it wasn't the best option to play the sprint with Alaphilippe, but it was the only one left after trying it several times.

You never know.

That insistence, pursuing him to the end, gave me the chance to believe in myself.

You might think that it wasn't the best option to play the sprint with Alaphilippe, but it was the only one left after trying it several times.

You never know.

His track record is one of the best among the Spanish peloton, but he was always in the background in the media.

Why? I don't feel undervalued.

The list of winners is there, the people are the ones who judge, who like one runner or another.

I do not run to please the public, I run for my team, I do the function that is required of me.

I like that people enjoy our sport, obviously.

And I enjoy when I'm involved in garlic, when I'm the protagonist.

I am not so much satisfied with the result but with how it is obtained.

I'm not worried about having more or less recognition. Has the disappointment of not going to the Games passed? Yes, yes.

If I learned anything from that, it is that you should not give excessive importance to a specific career.

You shouldn't be obsessed with something.

And it's not like I'm thinking of Paris, if it comes, it will come, calmly.

There are many races.

Where were you when you were 20 years old? You were doing the complete opposite of the kids who now become professionals at 18 or 19 years old. I was on a different wavelength.

I really had an exceptional opportunity in front of me, to be a professional.

But at that time I did not have the mentality of now.

So I combined my studies with training, in the morning I went to class and in the afternoon I trained.

The diet kept her as best she could.

He ate many times in the university dining room.

Let's just say my life wasn't very professional.

The transition to professionals came a bit unexpectedly, faster than I thought.

Things came easy for me in amateur and I was at the right time and in the right place and I was able to take advantage of the Euskaltel structure ladder.

They gave me the opportunity and maybe mentally I was not prepared.

It was three years of apprenticeship,

but I'm sure I didn't get the most out of it.

Subsequently I have been more aware of where she was and what she really wanted to do.

But I don't regret the path I've taken, because I've enjoyed every moment, always progressing, always achieving more important achievements.

I think that's what keeps me motivated as a 20-year-old.

I don't know if the kids who achieve everything at 22 years old when they reach 30 or 35 will have the same motivation.

I guess it will be complicated.

Each one does the road in his own way and I am happy with how I have done it.What do you think when Bernal or Pogacar win Tours with 20 years?It no longer surprises us.

There are many people who do not need that adaptation time that others have needed.

I don't know what has really changed, but I see that the young people who pass are more professionalized.

They know their sport, they have worked in a more professional way from an early age, they come with the learned trade.

Likewise, cycling has changed and adapts better to the characteristics of a young boy.

It is not as agonistic or resistant, it is more explosive. Physically, can they also pay it when they are veterans? The body can withstand everything you throw at it as long as you don't have serious falls or injuries.

He is stretching his career until he is 42 years old and it is seen that he is holding up physically without any problem.

But I see it more in the mental aspect.

Getting up every day and training no matter what happens, with the best attitude, with motivation and with the quality that being on a World Tour demands.

Measuring all the details, taking care of you, giving up everything that has to be given up.

That motivation is what is lost with age.

The head can no longer push harder, reach those limits. How were your beginnings? I arrived late on the bike, when I was 16 years old.

In the family there was no tradition with cycling.

Yes, in my grandfather's, a couple of brothers who dedicated themselves.

But it doesn't come to me.

It was thanks to the people of the gang, who competed in the town club, the Gernikesa.

I started going out on a bike just to play sports, to pass the time.

I liked to try different kinds of sports.

He played soccer, the fronton, he went to catch waves.

They soon saw that he had a level, that he could be competitive. And was he good at the pediment? No.

Neither does football.

Let's say that the only place that has been successful has been the bike.

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