Interview with Juanjo Oroz

Juanjo Oroz has certainly been Euskaltel's revelation for the northern classics. He was one of the two riders in the whole peloton who finished all six of them and that's quite a performance ! That's why the Euskaltel website did an interview with him and I will translate it for you.

-I suppose you're very happy about your performance ?
The truth is that I'm extremely happy with it, mainly because I didn't know the six races. I never started in one of them before, they were all new for me. And in addition Flandres, Wevelgem and Roubaix are races really different than the races here in Spain and the culture shock is very important. You have to load your batteries quickly and adapt to the paves and walls. It was an enriching experience !

-What remarkable differences have you found between the first week and the second one ?
In the first week, riders with a lot of power without rising of the saddle, Boonen and Cancellara are good examples. The Amstel, Fleche and Liege are courses more similar to the ones in Spain, for riders like Cunego, Valverde, Schleck and Sanchez.

-But Paris-Roubaix is probably the hardest ...
The truth is that Roubaix was the hardest race for me. It destroyed my arms and the tension in the race was horrible. But the satisfaction to enter the velodrome was great. I felt a lot of joy !

-In the Tour of Flandres you seemed to do pretty good.
The Tour of Flandres enchanted me. Together with Liege it was the race that I liked the most. I was in good shape, enjoyed the race and the atmosphere and breathed cycling in each meter. It's a mix between highs and lows and that fits perfectly for me. I also liked the Fleche but it didn't have the repercussion as the other two.

-If you have to return next year ...
I will know the races and have more experience and that's very important in these races. I'm very happy to finish them, but disputing them is something else. You have to have a lot of strength, experience and don't fall. They are very complicated race with a lot of secrets. For those in the first week you need to adapt more.