Thirteen years after taking his World Championships victory with a lone breakaway in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Igor Astarloa remains in the peloton - but with a very different kind of role.
Astarloa is now working as a motorbike driver for the Giro d’Italia’s regulator, Marco Velo, who is responsible for coordinating the Giro’s motorized traffic at the head of the peloton. For Astarloa - the winner of the World’s in 2003 and the first Spaniard ever to win Fleche Wallonne that year, but whose career was curtailed by an adverse biological passport case in 2009 - it’s a job which combines both his love of motorbike racing and of cycling.
As the regulator’s driver, positioned just ahead of the peloton, Astarloa has a better view than almost anybody of the Giro d’Italia as it races the length and breadth of Italy. “I’m privileged to have that position,” the 40-year-old Basque tells Cyclingnews.
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How Astarloa ended up working for RCS was through Velo, a former teammate at Milram and Mercatone Uno last year. “Marco always knew I I liked motorbikes and driving them and he got in touch with me to see if I wanted to work as his driver” Astaralo has worked in the majority of RCS races in that position, from Milan-Turin, Giro di Piamonte, Il Lombardia and Abu Dhabi through to Dubai, Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo and now, for a second time, the Giro d’Italia.
“I’m glad to be here because I spent almost all my career racing with Italian teams,” Astarloa commented, “and I’ve always loved the Giro d’Italia and Italy. As if that wasn’t enough, this is a great excuse to come over here a few days before the Giro starts and spend some time with my friends who live near Lago di Garda.”
His former racing experience as a pro of ten years standing is vital, he says. “An organisation like this often tries to use ex-riders who are good motorbike drivers in these positions, because they know we can read races and anticipate situations before they actually happen, which is an advantage for our job.
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