Javier Romo, from the Universitat d'Alacant Triathlon to the World Tour with Astana

The Astana team has announced its 6 new signings for 2021, Javier Romo, our triathlete, has been one of them and has signed for three years. In addition the team has signed Italians Samuel Battistella, Matteo Sobrero, Andrea Piccolo, South African Stefan De Bod and Canadian Ben Perry, so he will not be the only new member of the team.

Javi, born in Villafranca de los Caballeros (Toledo), is aware of what he has come to the team to do, to work hard for the team and to learn. He knows that the first thing is to get by in the World Tour, something different from the few Elite-Sub23 races he has raced so far. At the moment he is already adapting to the team's language, English, and yesterday he showed his joy with this message:

"I am super happy to now be part of the team. I am very grateful to get this opportunity. The team gives me the chance and I want to work hard to give back the trust the team gives me. I hope I can step up into the WorldTour, helping the team to achieve victories. I am really looking forward to being part of it".

He will not be the only member of the Spanish team either, joining the Izagirre brothers, Alex Aranburu, Omar Fraile, Luis León Sánchez and Óscar Rodríguez.

The rise of the Baqué Team rider in recent months has been meteoric. He made his debut in a cycling competition at the end of July and in his second cycling race he won the U23 Spanish Championship shortly after.

Romo stood out as a triathlete, he was 9th in the World Junior Championship and 4th in the Spanish Absolute Championship in 2018. These results allow the new Astana rider to think that the leap "has not been by chance, but the result of work", and of his quality.

His exhibition in the Spanish under-23 Championships reflected his excellent qualities, which he finished in the end of the season with fourth place in the Volta a Valencia and third in the Vuelta a Cantabria. He is now ready for the challenge of the top professional category.

"I'm very happy and now I'm assimilating it a bit more. It's a big leap. It's true that a few months ago I wouldn't have imagined it, but it has come about like this," says Romo.

The opportunity to sign for a World Tour team "was a progressive thing", with many proposals from the professional environment.

"We did a test before I started racing and at the time I didn't think I would get so high. In some outings I met professionals and they encouraged me to compete. I started training on my own bike a few months ago and Café Baqué gave me the opportunity. Then, I won the Spanish Championship".

It all happened in a very short time, but it was not chance that was the determining factor, but the work I had already been doing as a triathlete.

"It wasn't just luck. I come from another sport in which I have worked hard. That's why I say it's not so easy and it's not a coincidence. I've found good people who have helped me, but if you don't have the right level, they won't call you, you can't get there".

The jump from triathlon to cycling was hastened by the pandemic.

"There were no triathlon competitions and I had nothing to lose, so I decided to focus one hundred per cent on the bike during these months and luckily everything went well. Maybe without the pandemic I wouldn't have dared to take the plunge.

From never having competed before to becoming Spanish under-23 champion, a result that didn't surprise Romo either. In triathlon his strongest point was the bike, but he didn't know how far he could go.

"I felt I had the level and if it hadn't been in the nationals, it would have been in another race. I think that if you work well and you have the level, it comes out in the end. You look for luck. I'm one of those who think that you either do things or you don't, it's not worth doing them half-heartedly".

Now he will have to adapt to professional cycling at the highest level, a process that will take time, although the Spaniard wants to prove his worth from the very first year.

"The team knows that I come from another sport, that maybe I need to adapt a little bit, and they have given me the opportunity to be more relaxed. The pressure is on yourself and I want to do well from the first year. I want to work and do my best to do what the team asks me to do".

Romo arrives to a team full of Spaniards, in whom he hopes to find support and a good learning environment.

Although he is from a small town in Toledo, he has been living in Albacete with his brother for a year and a half.

"I'm better here for training, more focused. It's almost all flat and with a lot of air. That's the way it is. If I want to do a bit of level, I have the Sierra del Segura and Alcaraz, in the Riópar area, it's the area I like best for training".