Photo: Xabi Remon during GreenEDGE Cycling’s debut race in Australia, January 2012
Xabier Remon Arana’s journey as a WorldTour mechanic began as a young 21-year-old. He was the youngest mechanic in the peloton for multiple years by far and even much younger than most of the riders in the peloton.
Now in 2025, the 41-year-old is one of the ‘original’ GreenEDGE Cycling team members and recalls his experiences after initially turning down the job, before taking a risk on it, to ultimately working alongside a Basque school friend without realising during his 20 years on the road.
From a cycling Mecca in the 90s
Born in Pamplona, Navarra there was only one option growing up in the Miguel Induráin ‘boom’ of the 90s – road cycling. However, Remon’s passion for cycling was initially ignited through his love for motorbikes.
“I actually started cycling because of motocross,” Remon explained. “I had a motocross circuit near my house, and my grandfather always took me to see the motorbikes when I was five or six years old but on my little push bike. After the motorbikes finished, I would always try to copy them and do the jumps on my little bike. “Eventually, after always asking, my grandfather actually bought me a motorbike, I was so happy, but my dad made him return it to the shop, saying it was too dangerous. I still haven’t forgiven him.
“In the end, I started with road and mountain bikes. I became obsessed, I just wanted to ride my bike very single day, and I started racing on a road and mountain bike (MTB) when I was just seven, with Club Ciclista Ermitagaña. I still ride MTB most days, it has become my life, but I didn’t know then it would become my working life, too.”
Photo: As a young inspiring cyclist racing the Spanish MTB championships aged 14 or 15
A life changing opportunity – the decision to be a car mechanic, factory worker or a WorldTour mechanic
The decision now seems an obvious one, but Remon’s life could have taken another route quite easily. Good friend, Xabi Echávarri (his former junior team director and son of José Miguel Echávarri, the former owner of Team Reynolds, Banesto, Caisse d’Epargne, which is now the Movistar team and manager of Miguel Indurain) offered him an opportunity to join a well-known professional cycling team and travel the world. It was an offer that most wouldn’t even need to consider; yet the 21-year-old declined the offer.
“I was racing as an under 23 with the team that is now Kern Pharma but finally decided to stop after some health issues. I didn’t want to know anything more about cycling, I was tired of it after so many years racing. In the winter of 2005, my friend Xabi offered me to start working in Caisse d’Epargne the next season as a mechanic.
“I didn’t hesitate and directly said no, I didn’t want to know anything more about cycling, I was finished with the sport. I was working in a bike shop, I wasn’t happy working with bikes and wanted to change my life, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I studied to be a car mechanic and worked three months as a mechanic in a garage but also decided that also wasn’t for me, even if cars is also one of my passions.”
Not realising at the time how a simple yes or no could change the course of his life, the current GreenEDGE Cycling mechanic almost missed the sought after opportunity.
“I was about to go to start work in a factory and spent some more time thinking about Xabi’s offer and after a week or so I called him to say I changed my mind. I was late and they had almost given the job to a Russian guy, Alexander – who currently works with Movistar. He had a lot of experience but finally they decided to give the role to me, a young guy living near the service course.
“My first experience was amazing; we spent one month in Majorca and then my first long trip in a car was driving alone as a 21-year-old to Paris-Nice. It was around 900km, and the roads were fully covered in snow, I didn’t know the way and I loved it. I enjoyed everything about the job a lot and I soon realised this was my dream job for many reasons.
“It was funny at the start because I was the youngest mechanic in the peloton during that period for many years. Many of the riders like Purito (Joaquim Rodriguez) and Bala (Alejandro Valverde) were older than me and it wasn’t really heard of back then, but I didn’t mind.”
Time for a challenge and a new Australian beginning
After finding his feet as a WorldTour mechanic with multiple Grand Tours under his belt by the young age of 26, it was time for a new challenge, another step out of his comfort zone, this time in the form of a brand-new Australian team.
“In 2008, working in Caisse d’Epargne, Neil Stephens came to the team as a director, and I was doing a lot of races with him in the team car. In 2010, he started talking about a new project that was forming in Australia and the year after he left the team to be focussed on creating GreenEDGE Cycling.
“Once it was confirmed that they would create Australia’s first WorldTour team, Neil contacted me and offered me a place on the team, and I didn’t have any doubts. I wanted to join. I wanted to have a new experience, learn a new language, a whole new challenge and so I thought ‘why not!?’
“After five years with Caisse d’Epargne and one year when the team was called Movistar, in 2012 I moved to GreenEDGE Cycling. I was excited at the start and then when I got to Ballarat, Australia for my first race with the team, the Australian national championships; it was chaos!”
Arriving in Australia with new teammates, not speaking the official team language at the most important event – the team’s first race, a home race, Remon soon realised it was not going to be an easy feat.
“I remember it was a stressful period, the nationals and then a home race the Tour Down Under and I thought ‘what have I done?’ It was really hard with the language, all Aussies speaking fast together. It was building a world class, elite level team from zero and starting with the first race on home roads. New riders, new equipment, new everything for everyone.
“That first month was hard and I had so many doubts, but we ended up winning the nationals and Tour Down Under and with the people around me in the team, I could see it was special and different. They were super professional, motivated but also really flexible and relaxed. It was a whole new experience and gave me a different perspective on cycling.
“The first three years I did all three Grand Tours, Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta and we had some great results. It was so special and important for Team Owner Gerry Ryan every time we won.
“Since then, I’ve never looked back, next year will be my 15th season with GreenEDGE. There’s been a lot of changes over the years but still so many things remain the same. It is a very special team. And finally, I learnt to speak English with Australians. It has been a life changing experience, and I am really grateful to this team for many reason, one of them being because I met my partner here and we are about to welcome our first daughter.”
Photo: Xabi Remon and Simon Gerrans at the 2013 Tour de France
From a small Basque kindergarten to an Australian elite team
The team may have been new, with many new international colleagues but there were some familiarities, closer to home than Remon expected.
“When I started in Caisse d’Epargne, I started with Asier Atxa, a physio and the brother of a former teammate when I was an U23 rider. He was also from Navarra, and we spent many days at the races together. After a full season, we started talking about school. He was from a small town in the mountains and he explained that when he was young, the first five years of his life he was living in Pamplona near the service course of Reynolds because his dad was a professional rider there.
“He couldn’t remember the name of the primary school he went to but started explaining where it was and I realised that it was the same school that I went to. After a while we realised that we attended the same school, at the same time. We were in the same class and sat next to each other from three to five years old.
“It didn’t seem that special but to look back now and realise that we have both been working for 14 years in an Australian WorldTour team, travelling around the world together, speaking multiple languages and that we met each other when we were just three years old, in a small Basque speaking school, it is pretty cool and what makes cycling an amazing sport to be a part of.”
Photo: The originals – GreenEDGE Cycling staff and rider Luke Durbridge at this year’s Tour de France, having all started with the team in its inaugural year back in 2012. Xabi Remon and Asier Atxa third and second from the right.
