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There were quotas on Under-23 teams in Italy regarding foreign riders, so I carried on riding in the Slovakian national setup for mountain bike and road races from Slovakia to Italy to Germany to Croatia. I might not have been riding the Tour de France in a Liquigas jersey, but I was 19, and I was a pro-continental cyclist earning 1,000 euros a month. It was pretty cool.

In July 2009, Liquigas called me up to meet the main squad at the Tour of Poland. Led by Ivan Basso, there were some guys there whom I would become close to over the years, guys like Maciej Bodnar; Daniel Oss, who is back with me at BORA-hansgrohe now; but most of all Sylwester Szmyd, who has been a good friend for many years and is now my coach.

The introduction was Liquigas’s way of telling me: “You’re in.” Even though I was still only 19, there were to be no more Under-23 races, no more barreling round Europe in a Slovakia jersey, no more mountain bike racing. I was to be a full-time professional on the ProTour circuit.