Peter and Martin Velits stand out from the crowd in many ways. They’re Slovakia’s first two professionals at ProTour level, they’re twins, and they’re both very gifted bike riders who’ve signed with Columbia-HTC for 2010. The team, which achieved record-breaking success in 2009, has added the Velits twins to its international roster of the best young athletes and veteran riders.
“We’d both tried a little bit of mountain biking when we were kids, but we both really wanted to go for it on the road,” explains Martin, the eldest. “As racers, we’re not too similar. I’m more of a one-day Classics rider and time triallist, while Peter is more interested in going for the overall classification in major Tours.”
While they’ll focus on different targets in the future, so far the two 24-year-olds have done everything together cycling-wise, from training to signing for the same squads.
Back in 2003, the Velits's rode for the same amateur team in Slovakia. Then they raced together in South Africa for two years before turning pro for the same squad in 2007.
“It makes a huge difference if we were racing together, because we look after each other,” Martin comments. “We’ve always insisted that if one of us signs for a team, the other one goes with them. It’s good in one sense because we’re stronger together than we would be individually,” Peter says. “The only disadvantage of racing with your twin is that when there’s a crash, even if you get through ok, you’re still worried about your brother and if he’s all right too!”
Peter and Martin Velits are the first Slovakians to race at ProTour level, and two years ago Peter became the first rider from his country to race in the Tour de France. “It was huge,” Martin, himself a double participant in the Tour of Spain, recalls. “Cycling’s a minor sport in Slovakia, but the journalists here really latched on to Peter’s success during the Tour.”
That wasn’t the first time Peter has caught the media’s attention. In 2007, he became U-23 World Champion after he was the fastest in a bunch sprint. “It wasn’t easy,” Peter recalls, “the circuit was very hilly but for some reason nobody could get away. Then in the finish Martin worked hard for me because he knows I’m a bit faster and I could get the win.”
Peter was the Velits who got the gold medal and World Champion’s rainbow jersey but his victory was a turning point for both riders. When Peter won the World Championships, suddenly a lot of squads came knocking at their door.
“We turned up at the World Championships that year with nothing and came away with a rainbow jersey for me and professional contracts for both of us,” Peter recalls. “That was quite a good moment.”
Two years later, the two have now signed for Columbia-HTC, where their aim is simple: to progress. “We’ve done enough racing now to know what we want,” Martin says. “Our next objective is to improve, and we’re very confident that at Columbia-HTC we’ll do exactly that.”
