David Martín makes his first professional rides at the Tour of Antalya

Only two seasons in the U23 structure have been sufficient to discover the great human and sports quality of the Sevillian David Martin Romero. The rider from Mairena de Aljarafe faces this season the jump to the professionalism of the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team after two years in the amateur team sponsored by the Contador Foundation with Rafa Diaz Justo in the direction. His debut, initially foreseen for the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana 1969, was postponed by a fall in the last days of the pre-season training camp in Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort. It finally came to fruition in the last edition of the Turkish Tour of Antalya.

In the Ottoman race, Martín Romero made his debut in the professional peloton. “It is true that it was not a race of a very high level, with the best riders or the main squads, but rivals are always rivals and in terms of competition there is no one small. The sensations of these days have been very gratifying. I’ve felt very good, especially compared to people who have been racing among the pros for a longer time”, he says.

Nerves, doubts, problems falling asleep the day before? “If I’m honest, I didn’t arrive at the first stage nervous or worried or anything like that. I was just calm. I was confident that I could do well. I was there at the start, before the first stage, I looked around and said to myself ‘wow, I’ve really done it’. The desire to race in the pros was immense. I was much more nervous when they told me that I was making the jump, which in the end meant achieving what I had always wanted to do”.

In Antalya Romero felt good. “Physically I felt good and I also had the good fortune to be surrounded by great team-mates. I especially liked the closeness of my teammates. They have helped me at all times, they have guided me… They have made me compete better. It’s nice, very nice. I am a newcomer to the category and that a kid like Giovanni Lonardi, who has just won a few days ago, tells me how to do things and guides me to do them well… It’s priceless”.

From his first experience as a professional on Turkish soil he also has good memories in his mind. “Especially the landscapes. We’ve been to some impressive places. Some huge cliffs, some very suggestive beaches, some really beautiful monuments… I’ve also been struck by some contrasts, like going to places where you see a certain level of wealth and a higher standard of living and, shortly afterwards, in others where you see little kids working in the fields or by the roadside”.

[📷 Sprint Cycling Agency]