The 2024 Tour de l'Avenir suddenly heated up on the Colle delle Finestre. Spaniard Pablo Torres, who had lost his jersey the day before and was riding 3'55" behind the new leader Blackmore, knew he had that one chance to reopen the race. Since the beginning of the year he had switched to UAE Team Emirates Gen Z, where Matxin had taken him by picking him up from Sanse of San Sebastian with whom the Emirati team had a collaboration.
Torres wasn't the strongest and isn't ashamed to admit that as a junior he carried a few extra pounds. He still went to school and trained for a maximum of two hours in the afternoon. Yet Matxin had seen correctly, but not even he expected what Torres would do shortly thereafter on the Colle dominated in 2018 by Froome in the attack with which he won the Giro d'Italia. His record has stood ever since: 64'19. One hour, 4 minutes, 19 seconds.
Torres he attacked headlong. He created a vacuum. Blackmore resisted, managing his nearly four-minute lead. And on the summit the Spaniard established the new climbing record in 60'45”: one hour and 45 secondsHe failed to regain the jersey by just 12″, which the leader managed to hold on to. It took Simon Yates' feat at the 2025 Giro to beat the young Spaniard's record: 59'23” which allowed him to push back and then sink the very young Del Toro.
Five years of WorldTour
Matxin was satisfied with what he had seen and from I have to team up, the next year Torres was brought into the WorldTourContract until 2030. Risk or well-reasoned calculation?
«Even today – Torres told the Dutchman Wielerfits – that was my best performance ever. It gave me the opportunity to make the leap in quality in the WorldTour. A super positive experience, certainly, but perhaps also a poisoned gift. From that moment on, the pressure started to build upPeople made me believe I was going to be the next top rider, the new Tadej Pogacar. When everyone tells you that, you secretly want to live up to it. But if you can't deliver what's expected of you, that causes... an even bigger setback and creates bad mental feelings».
The pressure of the environment
Expectations are high, 19 years is no guarantee of solidity. Professionalism is a path full of sacrifices that you must have accepted first.Adolescence, because that's what it is until you're 25, is a challenging and crucial time for development. Failure affects self-esteem, with the risk that the child will no longer believe in himself.
"There's a lot of pressure on young riders," Torres said. "I feel it too. Everyone thinks I'll become a strong rider, and that's their right. But they also think I'll win my first races right away, and that's not how it works. Everyone has their own growth path and career path.I have to focus on myself and not listen to what people say. But it's difficult, because this pressure is affecting my performanceIf you don't win, it doesn't mean you're doing badly. Instead, you start to feel like you're not good enough, and that's really hard. Luckily. I found support within the team, which is helping me focus on myself."
A constant development
That contract until 2030 is a kind of long-term insurance. Except for Van Aert and Pedersen, who have signed lifetime contracts, Torres's contract with UAE Emirates It is the longest commitment of the group, on a par with Pogacar's. Wouldn't it have made more sense to allow him to continue his journey in I have to team up, maintaining the certainties achieved the previous year with that issue on the Colle delle Finestre?
«Matxin offered me such a long contract – said Torres – precisely because prevent me from looking for immediate results and can constantly work on my developmentI totally agree with him. I'm given a lot of trust. Matxin always tells me not to skip steps, not to expect too much. I trained well all winter and I already feel stronger and more comfortable. I had knee problems since the first races. I rested, but in Oman the problem recurred. The key now is rest some more and reach a level where I can get my first victoryIt will be difficult, but even if I don't succeed, I'll keep trying next year. Step by step."
