A class act

Iban Mayo has often been dubbed "the special one", "the great orange hope", "classy", "a class act" for years now, just to mention a few. But besides his obvious talent and ability as a cyclist, what is it that makes Iban stand out from the rest? What makes this guy so special that everyone calls him "a rider with class"?

I was reading an interview with former Euskaltel director Julian Gorospe on an Italian Euskaltel-Euskadi blog, which you by the way can access on the right-hand menu, when a question and it`s answer made me think. "What riders have stood out the most during your time with Euskaltel?", or something in that manner, the reporter asked. He answered:" Obviously Iban Mayo, he`s the most classy one, by far. He`s given a lot, and still has a lot to give." Iban is often referred to as "classy" by his peers, but what does that mean? Well, first of all, Iban`s racing style ,when in form, is "classy". When he`s peaking, and a big mountain is up next, you can bet on Iban to totally crush his rivals and win comfortably. That`s class, pure class. Being able to simply outclass anyone, and leave no doubt as to who is the strongest, is the making of a "classy"-rider. Iban has got that ability. The ability to win by minutes on l`Alpe d`Huez, Mont Ventoux, La Toussuire, Naranco, Urkiola....the list goes on. Winning by minutes on a summit finish is not every day stuff, not even with a talented rider as Iban unfortuantely. His form can be...anything. You never know, though explaining Iban`s strange ability to lose form in the blink of an eye is not the purpose of this small article.

Iban is often referred to as a charismatic rider as well. He`s extremely popular among the ladies, due to his good looks and characteristic, long, curly neck hair. His popularity in the Basque country, as well as the whole Iberian peninsula, is unbelievable. The Tour of 2003 took Spain by storm, and no matter how his career envolves further, he`ll always remain popular. Charismatic is a hard word to explain, but I think, or at least hope, that you get what I mean when I say that Iban is charismatic.

Iban`s talent can not be doubted. We all know that he`s among the most natural talented riders around. His climbing when he`s in form is simply the best in the world I reckon. But can he put his class on show more with Saunier than he did with Euskaltel the last years? His classy and charismatic riding was what we got used to as early as in 2001. Though we`ve seen some of it this year, I hope to see more of it the following seasons.