Meet Eider Merino, the New Signings of the Drops - Le Col Team

You have been a professional cyclist since 2013. You spent five seasons with the Lointek team, another three with Movistar and your last season with the Italian team AR Monex. How would you assess your career?

Lointek, which was the UCI team from my area, was very important because they allowed me to combine cycling with my chemistry degree. They let me train and compete whenever I could so that I could continue studying. Then I moved up to the Movistar team, which was already more professional and allowed me to dedicate myself 100% to sport.

Throughout all these years, I have learned that it is possible, and that the little girl who was just starting out was able to become a professional cyclist. 

You started at a very young age and combined cycling with a degree, so you must have had to sacrifice many other things. Was it worth it? Did your surroundings support you?

Cycling is a sport that completely absorbs you… You end up thinking about your bike all day long. Personally, I had to put many things aside, especially while I was studying. I did nothing but study and train, and I barely slept five hours a day.

I didn’t even have a coach because I couldn’t follow a training plan; I did everything myself whenever I could. Races were my escape valve and training was a way of recharging my batteries so that I could continue studying.

In short, my bike is my life… If you take my bike away, you take everything away from me.

And all of this was possible thanks to my family, who have always supported me. Even after I finished my studies, they made everything easier for me so that I could focus on training and resting. And, honestly, what I noticed most was being able to rest, which is something very important for an athlete.

What do you think the Drops-Le Col team will bring to your professional career?

It is the first time I have not used my mother tongue in a team, and that worried me a little. However, from the very first moment, I found a great family at Drops-Le Col. And although it is a different culture and a different way of seeing cycling, it feels as if I have been racing with them for five years.

Now we just need to train more so that we can get to know each other better, but from the beginning we have been a very close-knit group and I think I am going to learn a lot. And, at 27, I can also teach the younger riders who want to become great cyclists everything I have learned throughout my career.

What will your role be on the team?

I am a climber because of my physical characteristics. Therefore, my role will be to lead the team in the major stage races, when the road climbs and I perform at my best. To do that, you need a great team behind you: I need to be able to help them when they need it most, and vice versa. When a climb approaches, I need to be well protected so that I can get as far ahead as possible while using the least amount of energy. I will continue working to be another member of the team and to help in every way I can. 

What is your favourite race on the 2022 calendar?

I have always had a special feeling about the Tour de l’Ardèche in France. I started competing there in 2013 and have taken part every year except this one and another year when I was injured. It was where I achieved my first UCI victory, so it is a very special memory.

On the other hand, the races in the Basque Country are and will always be the most special. There is something about the Basque fans, and when those are your roots, you feel it even more strongly. Seeing the roadside packed with people shouting your name… I get goosebumps just saying it!

What do you think about the state of women’s cycling in Spain?

Women’s cycling is changing a lot, and I am experiencing this change firsthand. When I turned professional, there were only two women’s UCI teams in Spain: Vizcaya and Lointek. With a great deal of effort and the limited resources they had, they managed to send us to compete. It was in those races that you realised women’s teams from other countries were at another level. They seemed like extraterrestrials — we couldn’t compete with them!

Little by little, the level of Spanish women’s cycling has grown, partly thanks to major teams such as Movistar, which gave us the opportunity to become more professional. We started believing in ourselves more and stopped seeing the Dutch riders as extraterrestrials, but rather as cyclists we could beat. 

We even began to have the opportunity to work in the same way as they did. It is important to bear in mind that in Spain there is still a very high percentage of female cyclists who cannot make a living from cycling and who combine it with another job or with their studies. Very few of us are privileged enough to make a living from sport.

At the moment, Spain has quality, but there are many UCI teams and that potential is spread across all of them. I think it would be better to have fewer teams and concentrate more of that potential, but that is just my opinion.

How important is the psychological factor in the career of a professional cyclist?

I have always believed that cycling is more psychological than physical. You may have excellent physical abilities, but if your mind is not working properly, you will not perform. Sometimes you go into a race without many expectations and end up performing better than in other races that you prepared for thoroughly and in which you feel a lot of pressure.

It is a very demanding sport, and you spend many hours alone on the road. Some people train with others, but I can spend four hours alone with myself on the road — and just imagine how much your mind can wander! Without a doubt, it is a very psychological sport.

How would you rate your first training camp at Mediterranean Sports Village?

This is the fifth time that Drops-Le Col has come to Mediterranean Sports Hub, but I had never been here before. Although I had looked at the website before our arrival, the facilities exceeded my expectations in person.

The food is adapted to the athletes’ needs, the bike storage is very good, there is plenty of outdoor space and we have our own apartment. That is completely different from being confined to a hotel, especially now with COVID. It is great to have such large, open outdoor spaces. 

As for the routes, I only knew this area in passing from the Mediterranean Games. I was impressed by the number of quiet roads with hardly any traffic. In addition, the good weather is guaranteed, so I would come back many times.

Thank you very much, and best of luck, Eider!

Photos: Drops Le-Col