Elosegui feels at home again in the Kern Pharma Team

It’s January, winter is on the horizon, but sunny skies and unusually pleasant temperatures seem to defy climatic logic. It was as if, suddenly, a short spring wanted to break through. That plant also lives Iñigo Elosegui (1998, Zierbena). His return to Galibier Sports Associationnow as a professional and with colors of Kern Pharma Teamit takes a cruising speed that looks incredible. ‘The Lion of Zierbena’ It gradually occupies its habitat. “Meeting my teammates and coaches went as well as I could have hoped for and it gives me incredible confidence,” he said.

The Mallorca Challenge and the Tour of Valencia They will be the first two appointments of 2023 for the Biscayan runner, who is eager to start his account of competition days with the pharmaceutical squad. Three seasons of ups and downs since he made the leap into the elite had hardened him and now he found, in addition, the balm of familiarity. “I sat down on the first day of the concentration in December to eat with my colleagues and everyone recognized: the same jokes between us, the same good vibes… for me it was a wonderful shot of energy to relive all that. Like when you see your friends after a long time and nothing has changed”, he expresses.

For Elosegui, who over Christmas honed his pedal stroke near his family and friends, alternating between training and rest, that strength also extended to his feet. He says he feels a great sensation on the bike, something he also noticed the first day he rode in a ‘grupetta’ with his new teammates. “I’m not exaggerating when I say this was the best training session I’ve had in a long time. I have had continuity since then and I feel great. I hope I can extend that spark throughout the season”, wished the Basque runner.

Communicating about goals and challenges before giving the starting signal is meant for ‘the lion’ a “good” turning point. The Kern Pharma Team sports managers encourage you to be patient. Something that Elosegui has. However, he did not hide his ambition, strengthened by the extra point of motivation that this new project brought him. “It’s not a question of starting at the top, but of maintaining myself. I want to have an extra concentration in the daily work that allows me to perform wherever I run this year”, reflected he. Suddenly he was on fire with the urge to put on a bib.

Her good vibes have also rubbed off on her entourage, who enjoy watching her prepare for the upcoming competitive premiere. He is clear about it, what increases the level of sports also has effects in his personal life. “Sometimes we don’t see it, but when you suffer in this sport, those around you suffer even more. Either they see you great or they see you bad, there is no middle ground. All my people, family and friends, are looking forward to 2023 and this new beginning fills them as it fills me. They were delighted”, he said, detailing an amusing anecdote. “My friends went crazy following the Kern Pharma Team on social networks!”, he recounts.

And this ability to hook the fan is what makes Elosegui a cyclist of enormous charisma. As much as that gives him his particular nickname, which he doesn’t hesitate to show off. “I hope that with these good vibes ‘El León’ is back for good,” he said on the other end of the phone. “In a joking tone they changed me to ‘kitten’ and last year I was promoted to ‘lynx’, which is almost ‘lion’ again,” he joked. His new ‘herd’ was waiting to join him on a path that seemed attractive.