Homeboy Espaсa: New Year New Town New Team

Our man Nathan Deibert checks in from the only sunny place in Europe it seems – Spain – where he’s at last secured a new team, a new home, and a new pal in Classic’s king Andrea Tafi…

The New Team Emerges
I returned to Spain at the beginning of January with a few things up in the air, like what team I was going to ride for in 2005. I started to try to resolve this problem back in November when I was in the U.S. but with little luck. The team I had hoped to ride for turned pro in the new Continental category (old Div III) and they only wanted Spanish riders on the team.

The new Citroлn Martos Tobalo / Escayolas Alvaro team – can you spot the foreigner?

Then I heard that the one bike shop owner I know in Sevilla was sponsoring a new Elite level team. I gave him a ring to ask about it and he said, don’t worry I’ll get you in the team. I wasn’t going to hold my breath though because I’ve learned that in general things in Spain are a lot of talk and little action. I was sure though, that either racing for the new team or racing on my own, would be much better than continuing with my team from last year.

Hangin with Saunier Duval-Prodir
As many of you know from reading PEZ, almost as soon as I got here I was off to the Saunier Duval – Prodir training camp and team presentation. What an incredible experience. I got to hang out with the guys from Scott USA and SD – Prodir at the sweetest hotel I’ve ever been too. Adrian from Scott USA hooked me up with a team bike for a couple of days so I could ride while I was there. Probably the coolest thing for me though was hanging out with Andrea Tafi. After I did the interview with him the second day I was there, he was very friendly and talked to me every time we crossed paths. We hung out with some of the other guys over coffee one afternoon. One of the other days, I saw him in the lobby reading the Gazzetta dello Sport. He called me over and started translating the article about the Giro presentation from Italian to Spanish for me. What a cool guy! He was definitely one of my cycling heroes before and now he may top the list for being so cool.

Our Homie and his newest bud – Andrea Tafi.

While I was at the Saunier camp, the director of the team I was hopefully going to ride for called me. He said that the shop owner, Pepe, had put in a good word for me and that he was going to give me a spot in the team. I was really pleased because it was a relief to finally know what I was doing for the season. So, the following Saturday I had to go to Carmona, a small town north of Sevilla, where the team is based for our presentation.

The team structure is base on a cycling club from the town of Carmona and they own a “local” (property) in the town for meetings, etc. From the first step I took inside the building, I knew I was off to a better start than last year. First of all, we were given all of our uniforms up from, not like last year when we had to “earn” them. Second, I could sense a feeling of excitement, emotion and desire to race among my teammates and our director, Juan.

Official team cars – one benefit of having a local car dealer as your sponsor.

The team is very young. Most of the guys on the team are in their first or second year of Sub 23, plus three of us who are about the same age in the Elite category. I recognized two of my teammates from racing last year, but otherwise I didn’t know any of them. We put on our “costumes” and rode to our major sponsors for photos and even a small interview for the local TV station. My new team is officially called: Citroлn Martos Tobalo / Escayolas Alvaro. In English that is a Citroлn car dealership and a decorative plaster molding company.

Old Country – New Home
Now I’ve covered the new year and new team part of my title this month, I guess I should cover the new town part. I’ve moved out of Sevilla and to a small town about 40 minutes to the south called Lebrija. I’ve moved here due to my significant other spending most of the week here because she teaches in the next town over. It seemed silly to me to continue to live in Sevilla and only see her on the weekend or to go back and forth on the train twice a week.

Nate’s new town – Lebrija, Spain

I’m still getting to know the area, but so far it is quite good for training, very little traffic and what appears to be mountains quite close though I’ve yet to investigate. An added benefit of moving down here is I have a teammate to train with now. My teammate “Chopo” (poplar tree), no idea why they call him that, lives in the next town over, about 12km away. We usually train together at least twice a week. I’m starting to feel a little old in all of this as he is 18 and I’m going on 28. Oh well, I’m just getting ready to peak, right? We’ll find out soon enough, as the racing season starts on the last day of this month.

Well, that’s all from Spain for now. I’m off to the gym and then a four-hour session on the bike. As always, thanks for reading and keep an eye out for future additions. Hasta la prуxima.

Nate

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Nathan Deibert is a 28 year old young American in southern Spain racing for the new Citroлn Martos Tobalo / Escayolas Alvaro Elite-Sub23 team, and living the dream every day. Drop him an email at [email protected]

Gratuitous Sponsor Plug Thanks to:
Citroлn Martos Tobalo and Escayolas Alvaro: My new team sponsors. Citroлn Martos Tobalo is a local Citroлn dealer and Escayolas Alvaro is a molded plaster decoration company, both of which are in Carmona, Spain.
Mike Kuhn: My coach for the last 4 years and counting. If you’re looking for a great coach in the central PA area or around the world, send him an email: [email protected],
or take a look at the website: www.endurancenetwork.com

Holmes Cycling and Fitness: The best bike shop in all of central PA. They’ve got everything you need from serious race equipment to great recreational equipment. Check them out at: www.holmescycling.com

My Parents: for never telling me I was crazy through all the years of chasing this dream.