Newly crowned European U23 Champion offers Evenepoel and others advice: 'Today it finally paid off'

Álvarez is a second-year U23 rider. As a junior, he won just about every race there was to win, and he also made his mark in the senior category. Last year, for example, he finished fourth at the U23 World Championships and third at the European Championships in France. This season, he combined youth races with a significant number of elite races, but he just couldn’t seem to secure a win.

He had gone two years without a win, despite finishing second in the Trofeo Calvià and sixth in the ZLM Tour—both in the elite men’s category. At the World Championships, he was considered one of the absolute top favorites, both in the time trial and the road race. But in the time trial, he was beaten by Ryan Gal and took the bronze, while in the road race he was only beaten by Ashlin Barry. Álvarez was absolutely gutted in Montréal.

And so he had to seize this second chance in Slovenia with both hands. He attacked with 35 kilometers to go, but was caught at the top of the final climb. He didn’t give up, though, and attacked again. That’s how he claimed his first solo victory since October 6, 2024. “Finally—you could say that,” he laughs during the flash interview. “I’ve wanted this for a long time; I haven’t had a win in two years. But everyone believed in me, and today it paid off.”

The somewhat stockier Spaniard wanted to outsmart the climbers and therefore put his teammates to work to make the race fast on the flat section. “We knew from the start that we wanted to make things crazy and fast on the flat section. But all my teammates were there in front of me; they kept the faith. They knew today was the day.”

On Sunday, the elite men will race in Slovenia. Álvarez offers them a few tips. “I don’t think I should be giving advice to the big guys,” he laughs at first. “But you have to be bold. Today I stuck to my racing style, which is riding aggressively. Today it finally paid off. Be bold.”