The U23 rookie is the protagonist of our first blog of the year.
Aguascalientes has an important place in the history of cycling. Standing at more than 1800 meters above sea level, Aguascalientes is where the prestigious Hour Record has been broken several times – most recently, last year – but it’s also the hometown of Said Cisneros, one of the most promising young Mexican riders out there, who’ll race in the Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team colours this year.
Just 18 years of age, Said is a strong climber who also likes punchy finishes, and the results he has scored so far – together with his mentality and desire to always improve – have landed him a spot on our feeder squad, for whom he will debut next month.
As the team’s many fans wanted to know him better, at the end of our second training camp in Calpe, we talked with Said about his first steps in cycling, racing in Europe and his goals for his first year in the U23 peloton.
“I started cycling in 2020, at the age of 13, but the first time I actually got on my bike was before that, when my father taught me how to ride a bike. I remember that my first ever race was a mountain bike one, but slowly, I became interested in road cycling, and I was lucky to have a road cycling coach, who helped me discover it. Then, when a club invited me to join them in 2023, I decided that one day I would become a pro rider.
One year later, I began racing for A.R. Monex Pro Cycling Team, and this ended up giving me more opportunities to become better and take on a lot of new races. During the last two years, I competed mainly in Italy, and it didn’t take too much for me to notice that the level here in Europe is much bigger and more professional than anywhere else. I got to do some nice races, like the Giro della Lunigiana and Giro del Veneto, and with each of these I continued to learn and improve.
Eventually, this helped me go to the World Championships in Rwanda, where I finished as the best-placed Latin American rider, but the cherry on the cake was winning the road race title at the National Championships, in what was my last race of the year.”
It was unbelievable to bring down the curtain over my time in the junior ranks by being crowned the best Mexican rider in that category.
High hopes for 2026
“I am confident that joining this team is the right decision for my development. Everybody gave me a warm welcome and I can’t wait to start racing in a couple of weeks! The two training camps in Calpe have been great, and I was impressed with the way the team is being and the professionalism shown by everyone.
My main goals for the first season with the Devo Team are to learn, to give my best, to enjoy every single moment, and to fight for good results whenever possible. I would like to improve in all aspects and I feel that Soudal Quick-Step Devo is the right place for me to do that. In terms of personal results, I would be satisfied with more than a victory and a GC top ten in Giro della Valle d’Aosta or the Tour de l’Avenir, but there’s no rush or pressure; we’ll just take it one race at a time and see how it goes.”
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel