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The Sunday Interview: A conversation with Iban Mayo
Basque climbing sensation Iban Mayo once had the cycling world on edge. With his dramatic stage victory at Alpe d’Huez in the 2003 Tour de France and his impressive victory at Dauphiné Libéré in 2004, Mayo was hyped as potential candidate to dethrone Lance Armstrong at the Tour.
But Mayo fell on hard times, abandoning the 2004 Tour in humiliation and struggling through health issues in 2005. He rebounded in 2006 with a stage victory at La Toussuire in the Dauphiné and overall victory at the Tour of Burgos to show glimpses of the former giant-killer
This year, the Basque climber is hoping the switch to Saunier Duval-Prodir after a seven-year run at Euskaltel-Euskadi will provide the spark he needs to regain his confidence. VeloNews caught up with Mayo at the team’s training camp last month in Spain to gauge his future:
VeloNews.com: You were one of the few riders who truly put a fright into Lance Armstrong during his Tour reign, how do you reflect on those moments?
Iban Mayo: What happened in 2003 and the first half of 2004 was the most beautiful chapter of my career. I was at the top level and I was able to be a protagonist in the major races. Those were the greatest moments in my career. When I was going blow-to-blow with Armstrong, it’s something that’s kind of bittersweet for me. I look fondly at those moments, but I’ve also been frustrated that I haven’t been able to regain my footing and return to those heights. I had a horrible year in 2005 and I thought I had returned last year after winning a stage at the Dauphiné, but once again I disappointed at the Tour. You can only make excuses for so long, but the truth is I just didn’t feel good when I was on the bike.
VN.com: How have you been able to deal with some of the disappointments of the past few seasons?
IM: You take some blows and sometimes they’re hard to accept. When things don’t go as well as you hoped, sometimes it’s easy to get down and feel sorry for yourself. I have to look at myself in a different way and I have to take things in the best possible way. After I abandoned at the 2004 Tour, it was a major blow. I didn’t like anything at all that was happening to me and my morale hit an all-time low. It was hard to keep going when things aren’t going well. I think that’s why this change is positive for me, because if things kept going like they were, I am not sure I could have continued.
VN.com: You’ve achieved a lot in your career, do you still believe there will be more successes in the future?
IM: I’ve done a lot of beautiful things in my career, but you always desire to do more. There are a lot of goals to reach but there are only so many you can achieve. I haven’t done so badly in my career, but I still believe I can achieve more great things.
VN.com: So how does it feel to be in a new uniform after racing your entire professional career in orange at Euskaltel-Euskadi?
IM: Everything has changed, the colors, the team, the staff, the teammates, the bike, so the new sensations are agreeable so far. My calendar this year is more or less the same, except that I will be racing the Giro d’Italia. More than anything, the changes were necessary.
VN.com: Was it difficult to decide to leave Euskaltel?
IM: I was an integral part of Euskaltel for a long time. They counted on me a lot, but they also put a lot of pressure on me. I felt a huge weight on top of me that sometimes was too much for me to support. I started to have to discussions with (Saunier Duval-Prodir sport director Joxean Fernandez) Matxin last year about coming over here. They are confident in me and support me. They are taking good care of me and letting me relax a little. There is more than one captain on this team with broader ambitions. The ambiance is much more relaxed. Beyond that, it’s all the same, we race our bikes. Sure, it costs a little to change and after seven years, it wasn’t so easy to leave everything that was familiar. But once again, I think I needed a change and it’s giving me fresh motivation.
VN.com: Has there been any backlash against you leaving the home team of Basque Country for Saunier Duval?
IM: So far, the fans have supported me, but we’ll see at the Tour of the Basque Country. Maybe it will be a little strange at first for people to see me in a different jersey, but I hope they will accept the changes that I have made.
VN.com: Do you feel somewhat uneasy to trade the Giro instead of the Dauphiné Libéré, where you’ve enjoyed some of your best success? What will be your goals at the Giro?
IM: I’ve always done well there, it’s kind of been my race. This year we’ll do the Giro and see how it goes, but it’s true that I’ve always had a nice flavor in my mouth about the Dauphiné. I will go to the Giro to gain some fitness, help Simoni and maybe try to win a stage. I really don’t expect to be a factor in the overall. I have no pressure at the Giro and I can work to prepare for the Tour. There’s plenty of time between the Giro and the Tour to recover and arrive ready for July.
VN.com: Do you return to the Tour de France with ambitions of the overall?
IM: The priority is simply to regain my footing in the Tour. Since 2003, the Tour has been nothing but disappointment for me. The most important thing is to set realistic goals, to try to win a stage maybe, but we have to aspire for the maximum. If things are going well, who knows what can happen? The Tour is always hard and I will always have the handicap of the time trial. I’d like to do well in the overall, but I would prefer to win a stage. If would decide between being in the top 10 and winning a stage, I would take the stage victory.
