Tom Boonen, imposing, stood up and opened both arms. He was already fully aware that he would be the first to complete the 202 kilometers of the 2016 Ride London, that victory could not escape him. He had accelerated in the last few meters with the necessary force to leave behind the rivals who, until then, had overtaken him. He crossed the finish line alone, with some advantage. That one was the last victory of the Belgiana cyclist with an enviable track record: among others, six stage wins in the Tour de France, four times winner of the legendary Paris-Roubaix or world champion in 2005, in Madrid and ahead of Alejandro Valverde. Boonen savored the triumph in the capital of England, that July 31 six years ago, and Adrià Moreno was looking at it not too far away. The Olotí crossed the finish line a few seconds later, ranked 30th. He had just taken part in the decisive sprint and, most importantly, he had competed, closely, with one of his idols. When Moreno was enjoying watching the Tour on television, he chatted bravely with Boonen himself, but also with Joseph Beloki, Iban May or Lance Armstrong. And he didn’t need to cross any borders either because he didn’t lose any details of what they were doing Xavi Tondo, Joan Llaneras or Carles Torrent. He liked cycling. See it, practice it. He had tried a few sports but what really convinced him was climbing on top of a bicycle. A bunch of years have passed like this. Rolling, up and down. “Sharp stone”, as he himself explains. So much, that finally, and also maybe “late”, the opportunity came to him to be a professional in a World Tour club, the highest division. He has tasted it for a year, when he has already released his thirties. Now, with a suitcase well loaded with experiences, has decided to let it be. Seeing that he could not give continuity to the wheel, he has suffered his present and immediate future. Competing, being professional is over. Now it’s time to finish training and work, earn a living in another way.
A week ago, I was taking advantage of the social media speaker for to write the end of what he considers to have been “a great experience”. Days after receiving all kinds of messages of encouragement and support, he admits that he has his neck down and more than assumed what awaits him from now on and what are the consequences of his decision. “I leave it. I withdraw He had the possibility to continue, but in some smaller team. I feel that after coming as far as I have come, it would be to take a step back and I did that a long time ago. I don’t feel like repeating it again. I don’t have the motivation nor am I convinced.” A few years ago, much younger and with his whole career ahead of him, he wore the colors of the team ControlPack when he was proclaimed champion of Catalonia under 23, being eleventh in the Spanish Cup and obtaining a victory in the Volta a Lleida. Results that would help you make the leap and go to the Volosure Starley Primal English, an Elite category team. It was 2015. It didn’t take long to burn a new stage, to climb another step. Without moving from the United Kingdom, he signed for Team Raleigh, a Continental ICU. He has also raced in France (AVC Aix-en-Provence i VC Villefranche Beaujolais) and Austria (Vorarlberg)before the final jump. The great opportunity was presented to him this 2022, when he convinced Burgos BH. A World Tour, at the top of the pyramid.
“I had been a professional before, but I had never competed in a category like this. I got it but a little late. I have spent many years grinding stone and I was offered the possibility to help them in the Tour of Portugal. I was the best and they signed me. I’ve been getting older, I’m 31 years old and the current trend is to sign younger people. There aren’t too many runners of my generation,” he reflects.
A positive assessment
2022 has been very intense. Adrià Moreno has lived it to the fullest, trying to savor every moment. “I’ve had a very good year, but the positive results have come too late. I’m convinced that if I had gotten them earlier, they would have renewed me.” Because Burgos BH, despite signing him a year ago, decided a few months ago that the Olotí would not continue to be part of the squad this coming 2023. “The start was good, but I suffered from the coronavirus and it affected me. I did not recover well, with a strong relapse. By July I had already crossed my mind to leave it alone, but the options were minimal. After the Vuelta the team already told me that they didn’t count on me. At that point, many moves have already been made and there are few vacancies left to fill elsewhere. Then I decided it was time to let it go. Sooner or later, it had to come. I have assumed it.”
It does not leave a bad taste in the mouth. He prefers to see the glass half full. “I was able to achieve something that I had been looking for for many years. A personal satisfaction, and at the same time I have contributed my grain of sand for the good of a team that has opted for me when others have not». An eventful year, different from what I had experienced so far. “Competing at this level means spending many days away from home, experiencing high altitude concentrations and getting to know a lot of places. Everything is controlled: nutrition, rest, how you travel… I have used material of a very high level. Nothing to do with other smaller clubs, where you had to manage everything yourself».
I missed running a big lap. If I had the chance to be there a few more years, I’m sure I would have succeeded
Running with Burgos BH helped him get rid of “a thorn” that had stuck in him. “I have finally been able to compete in races in the World Tour category. I did very well in the Volta a Catalunya and I finished the Clàssica de Sant Sebastià, a very tough test». Things didn’t go too badly for him in Portugal or Langkawi, Malaysia either. “I missed running a big lap. If I had had the opportunity to be there a few more years, I would certainly have succeeded.”
He does not plan to abandon the bike and whenever he can, he will go out for a ride. But everything will not be the same. It is a time of change, of new horizons. He is finishing Business Administration and Management, and already has a Higher Degree in Administration and Finance. The world of work awaits him and if wherever he ends up it has something to do with cycling, even better. It’s not difficult, in the province. One of the epicenters of this sport. A kind of magnet for cyclists everywhere. Of course, perhaps a push is needed so that, like Moreno, more people from the demarcation reach the top. “Work is being done, but this work requires years, bet firmly on it and have the support of sponsors and institutions.” Who knows if he, tomorrow, will be involved. For now, he will have time to make memories and remember, with a smile, everything he has just left behind. Like that day he competed head-to-head with Tom Boonen.