Late last year, Lizarte announced that he was giving up his cycling sponsorship. After almost twenty years with the Galibier Sports Federation, the Navarresa company resigned … in one of the most productive quarries in Spain this century. runner like Richard Carapaz, Andrey Amador, Marc Soler and Sergio Samitieramong many others.
Later, Samitier signed with Euskadi Murias, where he spent two seasons and competed in the 2019 Vuelta, his first major. The team disappeared that year and appeared the mover starwho hired his services for the World Tour. He has already played four seasons with the Navarrese and finished 13th overall at the Giro 2020. “I define myself as a fighting runner, a fighter. For leaks, try fighting a stage, mountain, or shooting in the plane… Except for getting into a sprint, I’d say I can be versatile. I try to be indispensable at Movistar so that they can count on me for anything that needs to be done,” says the man from Barbastro.
His own team calls him an “all-rounder” in his description next to the file. This season he finds continuity, putting his physical problems behind and adding great performances. like his victory in the mountains classification at the Tour of the Alps (he also achieved this in 2019). “Maybe it’s the year I find the best. I’ll add the days of competition that I missed last year that show up in the rhythm. The work is well done and will pay off sooner rather than later. I know it can come with time, but I don’t expect anything from life either, I have to earn it myself,” he says of wanting to debut his pro record.
From Valverde to Pogacar
He was able to share a team with Alejandro Valverde, “an idol”, and highlights the major national corridors: “Currently there are some monsters touched by a wand: Evenepoel, Van Aert, Van der Poel, Pogacar… But you also have to appreciate what is in Spain. We have very good people, starting with Juan Ayuso and Carlos Rodríguez.”
Evenepoel, Van Aert, Van der Poel, Pogacar… but also Ayuso and Carlos Rodríguez
One photo Samitier retains with affection is when he was at the Clásica de Jaén last February. at the front of the race with Pogacar before the Slovenian claimed victory: “I got him in shape for the rest of the season because then he was a winner,” he concludes with a smile. A multipurpose corridor.