Ángel Madrazo will remain in the professional peloton as part of the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team thanks to a strong second half of the season that made up for a first half in which he suffered from health issues. The Spaniard does not want to leave anything to chance and so he will move from Cazona to Gandia where he will live for a few months to escape the bad weather that makes him suffer from severe grass allergy in the spring.

After five seasons with Eusebio Unzue at Caisse d'Epargne and Movistar, Angel Madrazo arrived at Caja Rural-Seguros RGA for the 2014 season and he was expected to be one of the leaders. Soon, however, his hopes started to fade.

"I trained pretty well, but in France in February I picked up a virus. Then I had a hard time in April and May where I always suffer from grass allergy. I was a bit demoralized but my wife, my parents and my sister encouraged me to fight as they always taught me as a child. I had a good second half which led to the renewal of my contract. I've always been fighting, even when things didn't go well not me and I did not stop being who I want to be. In the season finale, I was good. I started to be better at the Spanish Championships and I was particularly good in the months of September and October. I even finished on the podium when I was second behind Rebellin in the Giro dell'Emilia," he tells Biciciclismo in an interview.

The grass allergy almost destroyed his career but Madrazo doesn't want to give up. The Spaniard lives in Cazona and in December he will move almost 800km from one part of the country to another.

"During the season, I will live in Gandia in Cantabria because the rain and cold will not let me train well. I decided to go there with my wife and rent a flat and the team can see that I do my best to make things rights. I will be there from December to April and almost certainly also in May. In Southern Spain, the allergy is a bit better because when it's dry in the north I suffer much more from the grass," he says at in Tudela where the team has its first gathering.

The grass and his allergy severely affects his performance.

"For example, I got out of my bed and weighed 60-61 kilos. Then I went out training and when I returned, I had gained two or three kilos due to fluid retention. Those are very tough times. You cannot do anything. It's just how your body react. The only thing to do is to know what happens to you, accept it and treat it," he says.

"It affected me in my last year with Movistar and in the previous years, I always noticed a drop in performance in April and May but I never gave it too much attention until I was tested and found out that I suffered from allergy," he adds.

2014 started badly for Madrazo.

"We had more days of rain and cold. That was good for me. The sensations are odd. I have friends with similar problems but I have always thought that I didn't... until I found out. It affects me because of the fluid retention. For a normal life, it would be no problem, your would not even notice it, but for cycling, two or three kilos are noticeable," he says. "It's like a moped that can not go faster than 50kph because there it has a limited speed. You want more but you can't perform like you want. However, when we reach June and July, my body change completely. It's like getting a stone that has been tied to you, cut off."

Madrazo knows that the allergy will affect him in the sprint.

"Next year I have to start strongly. When we reach April and May, I know I won't be at 100% and I have to lower my ambitions. From June and July, I want to go hard again."

In May he will have the joy of becoming a father for the first time so he will have time to be close to his wife Maria while he waints for the allergy season to come to an end.