Three extra years to give her best

23-year-old Spaniard remains in the WorldTour for three more seasons; has left great details of quality on the road over the last 18 months.

The Movistar Team continues to set strong foundations for its women’s program’s future, and announces Monday a long-term extension with Sara Martín (Aranda de Duero, Burgos, ESP; 1999), who will remain a member of the Telefónica-backed squad for at least the next three years (2023-25).

An allrounder of enormous potential, the Spaniard has already shown her WorldTour caliber with remarkable teamwork and individual performances. Her efforts for Annemiek van Vleuten caught the eye of many at the 2021 Clásica de San Sebastián and Navarra Classics; she also raced her first ever Giro Donne last year, pushing hard in support of Emma Norsgaard for most stages; and repeated her ITT silver medal finish from 2020 -while adding a bronze in the road race- at the 2021 Spanish National Championships (she was 4th at both races in 2022, in Mallorca).

This 2022, Martín hasn’t been able to show her top level due to the consequences of a road incident last December -as well as her crash at the previous year’s Vuelta a Burgos-, as well as two consecutive crashes sustained at The Women’s Tour. Despite that, she’s still been able to shine at times, with fine appearances in Liège (long breakaway), Andalucía (7th overall; great work for GC winner Arlenis Sierra) and Navarra.

Sara Martín:

“Remaining a Movistar Team member allows me to continue with the efforts the team itself has made for me over the last two years. The fact that they’ve given me three more seasons to progress is a great proof of the confidence they have in me, and the fact that they always think about this project in the long term. Being part of a structure with the same culture as yours, with everything you need, close to home, things done easily – it helps you look at the future with hope, aiming at keeping learning and progressing.

“I’m still really young, but 2022 was a moment to start taking choices – always one step at a time, calmly, yet firmly. My life has changed a lot over the last two years as I finished the stage of my studies I was involved in. Cycling is no longer a way of having fun as it has turned into my work, which gives you another point of view – it might make it more demanding, but i’m ambitious and I knew it was a required step to keep building myself and take this sport more seriously.

“It wasn’t easy to get things going in 2022, starting with my accident in December, when I was hit by a car in training, then I caught covid (she was infected in late January – ed). The months after didn’t go smoothly either, because just as I was starting to find my pace back – and I was able to do well at some races in April / May – some other incidents came like my crashes in Britain. At some point it seems like everything comes against you, but you also draw lessons from that. You need to learn how to get back on track, and see those blows as part of your evolution. In that sense, I want to use the second half of the 2022 season as an impulse, part of the progress that helps me tackle this new chapter with the team. I’m heading into those final months of the year as excited as ever and with those lessons in mind.

“Long-term goals? Of course everyone wants to keep evolving and take advantage of every step in that process – and I insist: giving me three years is the best proof of confidence the team could have. But looking way ahead, I would like to remain a strong allrounder while becoming more and more competitive, getting closer to the front and use my strength to have opportunities in all kinds of scenarios. Hopefully that progression will lead me in the next few years to take the start of the Grand Tours and fight for stages / races in the WWT in any terrain.”

Sebastián Unzué: “We’ve got great confidence in what Sara can offer over the next few years, and that’s the main reason why we offered here a three-season contract when we sat down to extend — that, combined with our wish to have her work calmly so she can unleash her full potential. She’s someone who has offered great details of quality during the last 18 months, and with her allrounding quality, we think she’s ready to be a really valuable asset for the team in many terrains and situations, both supporting her leaders and, if circumstances so allow and her progression continues, seeking for individual chances on the mid-long term. For us it’s fundamental that she continues the work progression she started her Movistar Team career with; she’s one of Spain’s biggest hopefuls and we’re confidence she can reach really far.”