“Maybe it wasn’t the way I had planned to leave the bike, but things happen that way”
MADRID, 20 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish cyclist José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar Team) will retire at the end of this 2023 season after spending 19 years in the cycling elite – 17 of them in the telephone squad – and having participated in 22 ‘Grand Tours’ and having achieved 10 victories as a professional, including two Spanish road championships.
“José Joaquín retires after almost two decades of career. Seventeen years, practically all of it, with the Movistar Team. An excellent teammate. Someone who knew how to put himself at the service of others and provide experience when the time came,” the Movistar Team announced.
‘Rojillas’, his affectionate nickname in the team, leaves him after 19 seasons as a professional, after starting at Liberty Seguros in 2005 and making the jump to the then Caisse d’Epargne (now Movistar Team) in 2007. A house that no longer has abandoned his professional career.
“The truth is that I don’t even know where to start. Maybe it wasn’t the way I had planned to leave the bike, but there are times when things happen like that, and I can’t complain in the least. It’s been 18 years since that I made the leap to professionalism, 18 years since my dream came true,” Rojas acknowledged in a video published on his networks.
“I have grown up since I was very little watching my brother Mariano being a cyclist, and I have been very fortunate to be able to dedicate myself to what I liked most. It was never an easy path at all. Along the way there were many obstacles, many falls, injuries, family problems. Especially the loss in recent years of my sister and my father, two of the most important people in my life. But life goes on, and the time has come to end this adventure,” he said.
A career that allows him to make “great enemies, many memories and many stories” that he will not forget. “What I would like, above all, is to thank all the people who have accompanied me on this trip. To all the sponsors, Movistar, to all the people who have made it possible. From Manolo Sainz, who gave me the opportunity. Eusebio Unzué, who until today has been with him side by side for 17 years. And, of course, to Mimi, my partner, and my son Luca. Two fundamental pillars that have been vital in recent years on the bike. “, be sincere.
“We still have many adventures to live. Today I am leaving professional cycling, but the truth is that cycling will always be part of my life, even if I don’t want to. And I will carry it deep inside,” he concluded.
José Joaquín Rojas, 38 years old, joins the farewell of illustrious veterans in the Movistar Team – such as Alejandro Valverde and Imanol Erviti – and makes way for future generations. However, as the stage winner in the Volta a Catalunya or the Itzulia and two-time Spanish champion points out, his future could continue to be linked to cycling.