The sun is slowly setting in Monaco. Fans have gathered to see the Vuelta teams being presented in front of the Monte Carlo Casino. Television cameras follow the riders onto the stage where pyrotechnics welcome them like rockstars. Marcel stands out among the Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team riders in the Spanish colours. For the first time, he isn’t just another rider in the bunch. He’s Spain’s national champion, about to embark on a journey through his home country.

The first professional victory of Marcel Camprubí came with one of cycling’s greatest honours. The right to flaunt the Spanish colours on his chest until 2027 when the title is up for grabs again. Until then, Marcel wears of one of the most prestigious championship jerseys in the peloton. As he himself puts it: “To be able to wear this jersey for a year is unbelievable.”

Champion jerseys occupy a unique place in cycling. While leader’s jerseys come and go during a race, champion colours are worn every day throughout the season, making the rider instantly recognisable in the peloton. For fans watching at home, it’s easy to point out those special jerseys that set a few riders apart from the rest.

But who is this young talent who has surprised the cycling world with podium finishes these past months? 

Marcel Camprubí was a triathlete in his younger years before transitioning to road cycling. Unlike many professional cyclists, Marcel didn’t spend his childhood racing local road races. Instead, he developed as a triathlete, dividing his time between swimming, running, and long hours on the bike before eventually committing fully to road racing. He didn’t spend his junior years racing against and growing with his cycling peers. He didn’t have the advantage of knowing everyone and everything from an early age.

In 2023, he became a professional road cyclist when he signed with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, as the team was called back then. Four seasons later, and Marcel has had the breakthrough summer of his career: from a podium finish on stage 2 in Tour de Suisse to winning the Spanish nationals and having multiple top 10 results.

A few weeks later, Marcel admits that the victory still hasn’t fully sunk in. He’s still trying to process it all. How do you even begin to fathom that you’ve succeeded in claiming your first victory? Something you’ve dreamt about for years. Suddenly, that one quick moment on the finish line is expected to live up to everything you’ve imagined it to be.

“I was super focused, I launched my sprint, and once I passed the finish line, it was kind of strange. I expected to feel incredibly happy straight away, but nothing really changes in that moment. Obviously, I was happy, but I didn’t feel any different. I think it’s beginning to sink in more with the races afterwards rather than in the moment. I’m beginning to realise what I did,” Marcel says.

It wasn’t crossing the finish line that made the victory feel real. It was trying on the custom Q36.5 champion’s jersey for the first time. Climbing onto a Pinarello painted in Spain’s colours, proudly assembled by the team mechanics for Sibiu Cycling Tour. And noticing the reactions from the rest of the peloton. The presenters now had a new thing to add when presenting Marcel on stage. Colleagues and competitors admired the new bike and came over to congratulate him. He was no longer just another talent in the peloton. His outfit was a declaration to the world of what he had achieved.

“It’s the moment when you start to understand and believe what you did. Nothing really changes when you cross the finish line, but then you get the bike and the kit, and you see how people, other pros in the race, look at you and respect you straight away. This makes you understand what you did. You feel respect from the other riders. Everybody congratulates you for what you did. You feel this kind of respect and people loved the bike as well, so it was really cool,” Marcel states.

There is little bravado in the way Marcel speaks about his victory or talent. He doesn’t highlight this as ‘incredible’ or ‘the best day in his cycling career’. Between the lines, he insists on staying humble. He talks about honouring the jersey, earning respect in the peloton, and reaching his own level. He stays grounded despite having earned an honour that most Spanish riders will only ever dream about. 

This is the second time Marcel is lining up for Vuelta a España. But something is different this year. He will be sporting the Spanish flag in front of thousands of fans lining up along the parcourse for the 21 stages. From Monaco to Granada. He is humble about it though. Sometimes home crowd advantage can make athletes up their game and give them wings. But this Barcelona native is a realist with big dreams.

“The expectations are the same with or without the jersey. I want to honour the jersey and do well, but big ambitions come from me. I want to do well and live up to my best level. But of course, the dream would be to win a stage in the jersey.”

Whether or not a Vuelta stage victory arrives this year, Marcel has already crossed an important line. He now rolls to the start wearing the colours every Spanish cyclist dreams of earning. A jersey like this carries history. Prominent riders have worn the red and yellow stripes before him. For a young rider like Marcel, joining that lineage is a big statement. He is now part of the established winners that have their names written in the history books.