FROM COLINDRES TO THE WORLD. Even if she underwent her real breakthrough as an athlete only in her junior years, Lucía Ruiz from Cantabria, Spain, has been on a bike for nearly fifteen years already. A member of the renowned development club Meruelo, with José Luis, Roberto and Cristina San Emeterio as great sporting ‘fathers’, she took the right steps to become a member of cycling’s top tier in her home region. Showing already great quality in 2021, as she conquered stage one of the Nations Cup round Bizkaikoloreak against current WorldTour rivals, such as Eglantine Rayer (dsm-firmenich) or Rosita Reijnhout (Jumbo-Visma), she really rose to the top a year later.

BREAKING STEREOTYPES. Winning abroad has never been easy for riders from our country, and Lucía achieved so in 2022 at the Tour du Gévaudan, another Nations Cup event, winning -another not-so-usual feature in Spain- from a big bunch sprint in Mende. She would go on to repeat last year’s fear, back in Río Miera colours, at the Basque Country on stage one. For 2023, as she took up Animal Science university studies in León, she jumps onto UCI elite-under 23 racing with Eneicat, where she further confirms her abilities.

AT THE FRONT FROM THE GET-GO. Lucía wins in 2023 the Spanish National Series outright, elite and under-23 combined, with two round wins in Igartza and, above that, Noja, home of her sporting ‘school’ in Cantabria. She rides La Vuelta Femenina, doing quite well at hard routes, and cuts her teeth against international rivals in Colombia, the Tour de l’Avenir, the European Champs -she had, of course, been part of the Spanish national junior team at the previous year’s Worlds- and Ardèche, where she comes so close to a first pro win with 2nd on stage two. “I would describe myself as someone who defends well in the mid mountains” and a rider with “some good kick at small groups’ sprints. I’ve always guided myself well into the peloton, which should help me at difficult races.” It will be a pleasure to see how she fares in the future.