A year ago, Clément Izquierdo was preparing for the 2024 season at Calpe, invited by the Cofidis team. He was then a runner from AVC Aix-en-Provence, freshly on the road after putting aside mountain biking. In recent days, it is as a neo-pro of the Northern WorldTeam that he has prepared for the upcoming exercise, still on the Costa Blanca. “It’s incredible, if someone had told me that last year at the same time, I would have signed straight away. I didn't really know where to place myself when I arrived in the amateur peloton. And it went well from the Basque Rise”he remembers for DirectVelo.
Thanks to four victories and thirteen podiums, the Provencal finished the 2024 season in 6th place in the Amateur Challenge (see its DirectVelo file). And inevitably, it attracted desire. “I had contacts other than Cofidis in France, but since things went well last year, why look elsewhere?”he asks. And it wasn't the complicated season of his new team that pushed him back. “We know that there are ups and downs in a cycling team. In 2023, they had two victories on the Tour… And when there are lows in cycling, we change things. This season there are new trainers, new wheels or new components.”
“TOUCH ALL TYPES OF TERRAIN”
Clément Izquierdo is giving himself the means to succeed. Although he lives in Bouches-du-Rhône, he left for a personal internship in Spain on December 27. “The weather is still better here, it also allows you to change terrain, to only think about the bike and to train well”. He has worked hard since currently, “the numbers are good” despite falling ill in mid-January.
The Aubagnais will begin its season this weekend, in Castellon and Valence, before continuing with the Marseillaise, the Etoile de Bessèges, the Classic du Var, the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes and the Grand Prix de Monseré . “I will touch all types of terrain. It will be a year of discovery”. And this at all levels. “I know the big races by name but for the rest, I’m going to discover everything. Until last year, I only watched the big races on television.”
-“ALWAYS PLACES WHERE WE CAN PROGRESS”
Throughout last season he worked on what was his weak point due to his lack of experience, tactics. “I’ve made good progress on that. At the Essor Basque, I put it everywhere… It makes it easier to aim for victory when you run better, I saw it at the Tour de Moselle at the end of the season. By arriving at the pros, I now have to increase my general level. There are always places where we can improve, in terms of placement, diet, sleep, training”.
“Brand new in the bike”, he now knows more about his profile after a first full season in the pelotons. “I am explosive and therefore a puncher. This was the case as an amateur, we have to see among the professionals. I like short, intense efforts. I’m pretty fast at sprinting in a small group”. In Spain, at the end of the outings, he worked on the sprints with his teammates. “We must not neglect it.”
