Attila Valter is switching from Visma | Lease a Bike to Bahrain Victorious this winter. In an interview with the Hungarian Eurosport, he explains his choice. "The short reason is that I really needed this," the 27-year-old rider says.
"I feel that in the three years I spent at Visma, I learned everything there was to learn, and perhaps I made optimal use of that time," Valter continues. "But I want to achieve much more in the future, I want to fight more for myself, and I felt that I couldn’t do that in this environment. I want to develop further, so I have been thinking about the direction my career should take since early this year."
"It was difficult to say no to Visma, but I increasingly feel that I made the right decision. The reason for the decision ultimately came down to a feeling: I needed a different environment. Of course, time will tell whether we will achieve all our goals at Bahrain."
Attila Valter| Year | Team |
|---|---|
| 2028 | |
| 2027 | |
| 2026 | |
| 2025 | |
| 2024 |
New coach, good program
The first signs are already positive, according to Valter. He is, for example, happy with his new coach. "Communication and mindset: those are the things I wanted to change, and I think that has been resolved. Hendrik, a Belgian my age, is my new coach and we immediately clicked. I have been training for some time now, and I notice that he has a very different approach than what I used to do, and I like it. I now train a bit like I did as a mountain biker. He treats me differently; he deals with me differently."
Valter also notes that at Bahrain he has much input into his race schedule. "I could almost set up my entire calendar myself, but of course we discuss the planning with the management. I must say that last year I didn’t have a bad program either, although I missed a Grand Tour. I hadn’t planned the spring any differently."
"But now (at Bahrain, ed.) they sent me all our races and asked me what I wanted. Then we discussed everything: how to schedule rest, preparation, travel, and training camps. I really like Bahrain’s approach," says Valter.
