With an Argentinean wife, Daniel Moreno has made it a tradition that he always starts his season at the Tour de San Luis. However, the Spaniard admits that it will be hard to win the race whose level is constantly increasing.

Daniel Moreno may be born in Madrid but he almost feels more like an Argentinean. Since 2007, he has been riding the Tour de San Luis where he met his wife and now Argentina is like a second home. "I have always liked to ride in foreign countries," Moreno said in a press release from the Tour de San Luis organizers. "I arrived here with Martin Garrido to prepare the season and while I was here, I learned that the team (Relax-Gam) would participate in the Tour de San Luis. I voluntarily asked to ride."

Moreno not only won the last stage. He scored an even bigger prize.

"I met my wife a few days earlier, at a run in San Juan. Then, by chance, she was chosen from the audience to hand me the prize of the last stage of the Tour de San Luis. We started dating until we were married a few years ago" he said."

Since then, he has become the best ambassador for Argentina and the race. "I love to ride and train me here," he explained. "My wife is from San Juan where are a lot of cycling fans but in Argentina we live in Cordoba with my friend Luis Soppelsa and his wife. San Juan is flat and you cannot train there. In Córdoba, however, I have climbs liked the Observatorio and the Condor which I can use for tests. There's also the Mirador del Sol in Merlo" where the penultimate stage of this year's race will end.

"This time the finish is nearly seven kilometres further up the climb," he warned. "I know it by heart.

It has never been easy to win in San Luis but every year it becomes increasingly difficult. "In 2007, when I first came, there was a good level, but not as good as today," said the Katusha ruder. "Back then I had 10 chances to win, but there are 40 riders that can win. Each year it is more difficult to win. The Colombians and Argentinians not only have a good level. They are in the middle of their season while the Europeans are at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, the Tour de San Luis is the most important race in Latin America and it is a very prestigious win. It is very well organized and every year there are progress and innovation. This year we will go to Cordoba."

While Europe is very cold at the moment, Moreno likes to train under the sun in Argentina. "The problem I have here is sometimes the opposite," he explained. "As the villages are far from each other, I have to dose the water well if I don't want to lie on the ground." 

In the Tour de San Luis, he will build the foundations for the season. "I want to be fine for Tirreno-Adriatico which has always been good for me," he said. "But the big goal of the team is the Tour de France," where Katusha will focus on Joaquim Rodriguez.

Alexander Kolobnev, Pavel Kochetkov, Dmitriy Kozonchuk, Ilnur Zakarin and Alberto Losada will accompany Daniel Moreno at the Tour de San Luis.