Iker Díaz

Díaz lives with his family in Bilbao, although he has always competed with a Cantabrian licence due to his strong links with the mountain territory. In fact, he comes from Team Logos in the mountains. His father, Rafael, a keen road cyclist, is a native of Ramales. And many holiday periods and rest days have been spent in the house that the Díaz family own near Laredo. “My father has competed in the master’s category. I started to go out with him, especially accompanying him when we were in Laredo. One day he encouraged me to join a club and there, with the Club Ciclista Colindres, that’s where it all started. I was about seven years old or so, although when I was five years old I had participated in several cyclo-cross races in the promotional category”, says Díaz. Of course, the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España or the Itzulia are also days to enjoy with the family. “We’ve been going to the Tour since I was eight years old, to enjoy camping and this year, for example, we watched the Vuelta at the Sagrado Corazón in Bilbao and the following day, when we had a good one, we cycled to the Pico Jano”. The Biscayan declares himself an admirer of Wout Van Aert. “He’s my favourite cyclist, I can’t say why in particular. But I’ve always liked him. I admire his ability to win anywhere and in any circumstances. Of course he’s a rider I’d like to be like, but to get to that level is a tall order”, he smiles. This season Díaz is in the second year of the Dual Baccalaureate, which provides official qualifications in both Spain and the USA and greatly enriches his English level, and in the future he does want to go on to university: “I’m not sure yet what career to follow, but I’m sure it will be an engineering degree or something closely related to technology”.