Rory Sutherland is standing alone dressed in a matador's costume and in what little Spanish he can master about to address 70 people, most of whom he doesn't know.
It is last November, near Pamplona in Spain. The occasion is a dinner of Movistar team riders, staff and sponsors early in their first camp before the 2015 season.
Sutherland, 33 and from Canberra, Australia, is a new face in the Eusebio Unzue managed Spanish World Tour team that began 35 years ago as Reynolds until Banesto took over sponsorship, and then Illes Balears, Caisse d'Epargne and Movistar in 2011.
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With Briton Alex Dowsett, Sutherland is the only Anglo-Saxon on Movistar, having previously ridden for Rabobank, Health Net-Maxxis and Tinkoff-Saxo. As befits his new team's tradition for welcoming newcomers, he has also been asked to attend the dinner in a dress code refecting the team's Spanish heritage.
"I had only learned a little bit of Spanish and had to stand before 70 people and give a speech dressed as a matador. I nearly 'shit' my pants. I made mistakes, but everyone appreciated the effort. That is part of the team, why it works really well," Sutherland told Cyclingnews with a laugh as he recalled the moment. Sutherland was speaking before he raced in last Sunday's Liege-Bastogne- Liege classic after which he left for the Tour de Romandie that starts on Tuesday.
He admitted that he still has some way to master the Spanish language, but said with another laugh: "I'm getting there." He then explained: "Spanish is the language on the table. It's my responsibility to make sure I put myself in the position to learn more." However, Sutherland believes that his efforts to fit in to the team that he says is historically "closed" for non-Spanish speakers are starting to pay dividends; and all in season that began with him sustaining a broken collar bone in a crash at the Majorca Challenge in February that required surgery.
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