Ayuso will be the GC hopeful for Spain in the Vuelta this year, coming third last year in his debut at just 19. On home soil, he’ll have the whole country cheering for him as he takes on the gruelling lap around Spain that’s entrenched in dark secrets, triumphs, rivalry and admiration. As the curtain falls on the golden era of Spanish cycling, a fresh chapter unfurls for the nation. Simultaneously, Meseguer anticipates a new phase in her career, delving into the world of emerging cyclists—exploring their formative years, their attributes, their traits, and their strategic approaches. But despite this, she added, “It’s nice to live a story from the beginning.” Laura: I love to travel and meet new people, but this is something that I also do with my work in cycling. When Iґm at home I like to meet my friends and hear all their new stories and go out with them and enjoy all the plans you can make in Madrid. Of course my family is a very important part of my rest time. Thanks to sponsorship from Science In Sport, we were able to provide daily coverage from the Giro d’Italia for the first time. Science In Sport subsequently became a long-term partner.

Sheree: This year thanks to USADA’s ‘reasoned decision’ on Lance Armstrong the cycling off-season was uncharacteristically busy. A number of notable Spanish riders such as Miguel Indurain, Samuel Sanchez, Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde expressed their surprise at Lance being busted for a ‘non-analytical positive’. This wasn’t well received by the majority of cycling fans who’ve interpreted it as support for Lance. Can you perhaps throw some light on their reactions? Como en todos los inicios, cualquier empujón es bueno, así que no dudéis en compartir con vuestros amig@s apasionad@s del ciclismo para ir creciendo poquito a poco. He recalls that he arrived exhausted to his debut at the Tour de France in 2005 after a very intense first part of the season and twenty days of preparation in Sierra Nevada. If Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish had also been there, would we have seen a dramatic head-to-head on the Champs Elysèes between the two fastest sprinters in recent Tour history? An open race

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As for Landa? ‘I don’t know if I’m able to lead a team for a victory in the Tour de France,’ he told me.‘But for sure, I hope to lead a victory in another Grand Tour’. He was only 20, and was lying in bed at the hospital after suffering his accident in the 2004 Vuelta a Asturias because of a brain cavernoma. With the conversations I have had to write this article, I’ve come to realise that motherhood in top-level sport is still not yet an issue which is on the table. Even in women’s cycling, it is hardly a topic of conversation. This could be because of fears and uncertainties that still exist around it, whether it is about losing status in the team in a highly competitive sector, reconciling top-level competition with family life, economic issues or not returning to the desired sporting level. After leaving the construction company, her time was filled with going to the races and talking to all the people involved. This is how she began to understand the race’s nuances and strategies. Meseguer then became a regular at the Vuelta, attending year after year, learning about the generation of cyclists who were experiencing some of cycling’s highest highs, and lowest of lows. Recently you even found an article about yourself in the Belgian newspapers Net Nieuwsblad, you are famous now...

The whistleblowing had an effect and Nike reacted by changing its policy towards pregnant athletes to guarantee their contract for eighteen months: eight months during pregnancy and ten months after delivery. In August 2021, it launched its campai gn “The Toughest Athletes” with pregnant women doing sport as the protagonists of its campaign. Standing out in a cast of unknown women was the face of the tennis player Serena Williams, who, it should be noted, was never turned away by the company during her pregnancy. A year from now, we can expect Romain Bardet to be up there fighting for a first Tour win for the French since 1985. Standing in his way will be any or all of Quintana, Fabio Aru, Daniel Martin, George Bennett, the Yates brothers, Rigoberto Urán, Louis Meintjes and Landa.

I remember his first ever stage win in a Grand Tour, during the time-trial in the 2011 Vuelta a España. It was our first hint at what was to come from a very talented young man. The former professional Basque cyclist and Olympic medallist Leire Olabarria says that when she decided to become a mother, she had the support of her sponsors at all times and, on her return to competition, that of her team Gipuzkoa-Ogi Berri. It’s fair to say that his fourth Tour victory hasn’t captured the popular imagination in the same way as if one of the his contenders had managed a first win. First stage win After clearing up the situation surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak in his home country, the Czech Republic, Jiří stated that he was happy to be riding outside with friends again and that the course of the last few months wasn’t that bad regarding Czech cyclists but it was certainly a challenge for anyone. “It was quite difficult for everyone, not only the athletes, and especially for the elderly. I’ve been helping with my bike and going shopping for those who couldn’t around my house.” He would crash out of the Tour in 2014, but returned in 2015 to win both the Tour itself and the mountains jersey, cementing his place as the number one GC rider of his generation.

Not right now, but you never know what will happen in the future. For example I never thought I would end up working with cycling either! In any case it would be something serious in the area of reporting or interviewing, which I like to do so much. Sheree: Laura, thank you so much for sharing your time and thoughts with our readership. I look forward to catching up with you later this year at one of the many cycling events. Rodriguez angrily claimied the last stage is cerermonial and many observers considered the jersey to have effectively been stolen.

It’s always a pleasure to catch up with Laura Meseguer, one of the hardest working and busiest journalists in the pro peloton, who I last interviewed four years ago. She graces Eurosport’s coverage of cycling for at least 90 days per annum. But is that enough? We’ll find out. The Press Room at a Grand Tour can be a daunting place. Most people are too busy working to pass the time of day, but Laura Meseguer always has a happy smile and a warm word to cheer up the weariest of journo’s. TV commentator, serious journalist that can take a good photograph, add in good looks and a sense of humour…what more could you ask for? Sheree: The fans possibly don’t appreciate how how much planning and preparation goes into each day on the road. I learned a lot when I interviewed Jens Voigt recently. It will be in the next edition of Pedalier Pro. I enjoyed that interview very much. Voigt is a great person and I took many of the things he said as an learning experience. I can't reveal much since it's not published yet, but I can say that I learned a lot of ‘sayings’ talking with Voigt. Esta historia de “El dos caballos de Igor Antón”, parte de una conversación con Pedro en la que me hablaba de un rally de regularidad que había hecho con Óscar Freire (esto merece otro reportaje, ¿no creéis?) y me reveló la pasión compartida de Igor por los coches clásicos.