Iñigo Mujika

By the lighthouse of Santa Cruz, California (Photo: Iñigo Mujika)

I return to cycling. I return to Euskaltel Euskadi after my brief stay in the team back in 2005. I am really excited about this new professional challenge, and I hope that everyone (cyclists, staff and fans) will enjoy with the “orange” riders in the World Tour races in the years to come.

Here is an interview I have done for the team.

You were in the Euskaltel Euskadi team in 2005. It has been seven years already. What has changed for Iñigo Mujika?

First of all, I am seven years older! But during these years I have not been procrastinating, but working hard at Athletic Club Bilbao, USP Araba Sport Clinic, Spanish Swimming Federation, University of the Basque Country, Finis Terrae University in Chile, coaching elite triathletes, I have published three books, contributed to the creation and development of a scientific journal of sports physiology and training… All the work I have done during this seven-year period has given me new knowledge and ample experience, but besides that, I haven’t changed much: my passion for sports physiology and training, and my desire to try and help athletes perform to the best of their ability are still as strong as they were then.

What is it that brought you back to the team?

I love cycling, it’s a wonderful sport, and working in the sport again is attractive to me. Besides that, I thought the team’s project is particularly good and solid, and I think being part of such a project is an excellent opportunity. I know these are hard times for cycling, but I see hope for the future of the sport. There is sunshine after the storm, and I see a “new cycling” ahead, full of opportunities, especially for the teams that do things with commom sense and seriousness. Ours should be a pioneer among those teams, and I believe that the steps that have been taken so far go in that sense. In elite sports the basic things must be done extraordinarily well, without losing sight of the direction and the goal; that increases markedly the chances of attaining your goals. Team work will be absolutely necessary to succeed in such a path: cyclist, manager, sponsor, trainer, doctor, physiologist, mechanic, physiotherapist, biomechanist, masseur, cook… we all must work in the same direction, each and everyone must look for excellence in their duties, perform better than the opponents and learn faster than they do. This team’s philosophy can be an advantage or a limitation: we will have to work better that the rest to make sure it does not become a limitation.

Have you had other opportunities to get back to professional cycling during this time?

Yes, I had a couple of opportunities, but I was fully involved in the above mentioned jobs and unlike now, I did not feel it was the right time to take on that path. Nevertheless, I have not been completely away from the cycling world: as a matter of fact, these past years I have worked with triathletes and cyclists, at both elite and more modest performance levels, male and female.

In what will your contribution be special?

The team has undertaken a new time and a new path, and this requires evaluating, developing and maybe renovating the ways to prepare for and take on racing. We believe that in the above mentioned “new cycling” training based on sport sciences will be very important. It is happening in other sports and I don’t see why cycling should be any different. I believe that training, recovery, nutrition and psychology are the bases of sports performance. Other areas can also contribute, of course, but only if these basic areas are approached adequately. Sports physiology, training, recovery and nutrition are my areas of expertise, and we will try to do everything well in these areas. Besides that, I will bring to the team the knowledge and opinions I may have on other aspects that may be beneficial for the cyclists’ performance, to the extent that they may be helpful.

Are you particularly proud of any of your research studies (because it has taken very long to carry out, because the results have been particularly beneficial…)?

It is not easy for me to answer this question. It has been 20 years since since I entered the world of sports physiology (it was in October 1992 that I went to the French city of Saint-Étienne to carry out my Ph.D. studies), and most of the studies I have done ever since, if not all, have had a direct relationship with sports performance. This would be from my point of view the main reason to be proud. The studies on mathematical modeling of the relationships between training and performance, on tapering and detraining, on nutrition, hydration and use of supplements, on the physiological demands of competition, on youth athlete development, etc.; all or most have that special characteristic, a direct relationship with athletes’ performances. Besides that, I am really satisfied with the three books that I have published in the past three years (on tapering and peaking, swimming and endurance training, respectively), and also with the book on recovery that will be published next year.

Have you followed road cycling during these years?

Yes, of course. It is obvious that I paid more attention to football when I workd at Athletic Club Bilbao, these past four years to swimming, and along these two sports to triathlon, because I have been coaching several Basque elite triathletes for eleven years. But because I am a cycling fan I have tried to follow the sport, although it has been as a spectator, just like any other fan would: reading the news about cycling and watching the races on television. Besides that, I have continued to read the published research on cycling, because it is inherently interesting, and also because it can be useful for other sports. Therefore, I think I will bring totally up-to-date knowledge to the team.

What are your favourite cycling races?

I would say that Paris-Roubaix is the most spectacular race. From a professional point of view, the three-week grand tours, because they require preparation, recovery, nutrition, hydration, team work, strategy, mental toughness, etc. For personal reasons, the Tour of the Basque Country without a doubt!

You are an expert in endurance sports. Which is, in your opinion, the hardest sport?

This is a question that I am often asked, but I have never been able to provide a precise answer. Every sport is hard in its own way: in some cases, training is the hardest part, and competition may be a bit “easier”, like swimming; in other sports training is very hard, one must also suffer a lot in competition, but in most of them competition is a one-day event: triathlon, marathon running, rowing, cross-country skiing are examples of such sports. Road cycling is in a class of its own: one must suffer in training and racing, sometimes for a day, some other times for a week, and sometimes for three weeks! However, a well-prepared athlete can also enjoy the suffering, particularly when the outcomes are satisfying.