If you want proof of the power of social media in professional cycling, look no further than the latest chapter in the career of Argentinian cyclist Eduardo Sepulveda, now racing with Lotto-Dstny.
A part of the Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli squad in 2022, Sepulveda claimed the fourth win of his professional career on stage 4 of the Tour of Turkey, but he was left desperate to find a new team at season’s end as manager Gianni Savio was unable to find a sponsor with sufficient funds to keep the outfit operating at Pro Continental level.
Then a lightbulb came on in his head, as the 32-year-old recalled how Larry Warbasse had managed to secure his future after the demise of Aqua Blue Sport. Or as Sepulveda told Cyclingnews: “He once found a team through Twitter. And I thought, why couldn’t I? So I put out a Tweet, advertising my availability.”
Shortly afterwards – “though I don’t know if he saw the Tweet directly or somebody told him about it” – Lotto-Dstny sports director Allan Davis approached Sepulveda at the Tour de Langkawi asking if he was still free. A one-year contract was soon agreed, and Sepulveda remains one of just two Argentinian professionals in 2023.
Strictly speaking, rather than using a Tweet to find a team when his Aqua Blue squad went under in 2018, Warbasse sent a direct message to then AG2R leader Romain Bardet telling him he was free. Sepulveda’s tactic was more scattergun. “I didn’t know if all the managers and so on would know what my situation was, and if I’d got a contract. That wasn’t my case, but I was very keen to continue.”
Sepulveda is not, he explained, a major devotee of Twitter. “But last year, as they’d told us the main sponsor, Drone Hopper was in difficulties and the squad’s continuity was far from guaranteed, I thought I’d try it, rather than wait and wait and then get to November or December without a team,” he said.
“I got very lucky, and it’s a great team too: really well organised and we’ve had a great start to the year. People said that I might have a problem with a language barrier, but with English I can more than get by.”
Currently in action at the Tour of Oman, Sepulveda is feeling his way into the new campaign on his new team. “I’m seeing how things go in each moment, I had good pre-season, then I was a bit ill first day here, but now I’m getting better,” said Sepulveda,
“My goal here is to support Maxim [Van Gils, currently fifth overall], and stay close to the leader, and hope the team does well. I’m keen to work here, then maybe when I get my chance down the road, I can shine in my own right too.”
As for that Tweet that helped reboot his career, it’s still on his feed. “Why would I take it down, I’m not ashamed of it,” Sepulveda said. “I seized the chance when I could, put out that Tweet and I won’t forget that.”
