Fourth men's signing for 2024

24-year-old talent from La Mancha aims to grow with Blues on WorldTour after strong signs in the 2023 late season.

The Movistar Team announced on Thursday the signing of Javier Romo (Villafranca de los Caballeros, Toledo, ESP; 1999). The Spanish rider, a current member of the Astana Qazaqstan Team, has become the Blues’ fourth men’s signing for 2024, having inked a two-year contract with the Eusebio Unzué-led organisation.

Romo’s surge into the pro peloton was helped by an impressive series of appearances in 2020, when he became the Spanish U23 road race champion just few races after transitioning from triathlon to cycling. His jump, straight onto the WorldTour, required him learning the intricacies of road racing right at the very top.

Despite two injuries over the 2023 season -a broken jawbone and fistula after a crash in the Itzulia, then a fractured rib in La Vuelta-, Javier showed this year some of the signs of quality which made him turn a pro so soon. He was 7th overall, as best Young Rider, in the Vuelta a Burgos, then went on the attack over several stages of the Spanish grandtour. He hopes to continue chasing big results with his home WT outfit as of next year.

REACTION:

Javier Romo: “The Movistar Team is a new chance for me to keep improving as a professional cyclist. I’m excited to put into practice everything that I’ve learned over the last three years in Astana, and having the opportunity to do so at the biggest reference in Spain is really exciting. I want to show I’m more mature than when I started my cycling career, and also believe that I can keep and improve the level I showed in the late season of 2023, hopefully being more consistent. I’m one who aims at victories, but I also wish to help my team-mates claim success themselves.”