Her European base is in San Marino, while her home with all her loved ones is in the metropolis of Monterrey, but she grew up in Tampico. This is Romina Hinojosa, a young Mexican talent racing with Lotto-Intermarché. Often behind a top cyclist, there is a strong partner, and this is the case with Romina Hinojosa, who besides being a strong cyclist, is also Isaac Del Toro's girlfriend.

"Cycling is not a very popular sport in my country, but thanks to a local team, AR Monex, we had the opportunity to discover European cycling, especially in Italy."

Last year, Romina started racing for the Lotto women's team, and it was while training with this team that she met Isaac del Toro, currently one of the most promising riders in the international group. They immediately liked each other and currently live together in an apartment in San Marino.

"When I met Isaac, he was a talented rider but not as well-known as he is now. Since then, many things have changed in our lives, and I'm proud of how our relationship is developing."

Isaac and Romina are both Mexican, but it's a vast country and their families of origin are not close. "The fact that we don't see each other much lately makes me a bit unhappy. Even when we return to our families in Mexico, it's not easy. I live on the Gulf of Mexico, he on the Pacific Ocean. He's a day's flight away. Whenever we're together in San Marino, we try to make the most of our time. Sometimes we train together. My aerodynamic position on the bike is largely due to the training we do together. I have to make myself as small as possible to stay in his slipstream. Isaac makes me better, simply because I see how much he lives for the sport, something I try to emulate."

Returning to her career, the twenty-three-year-old Mexican is still discovering herself, although she has clear ambitions. "I've always thought I was made for stage races like the Vuelta or Tour de France, but last year my team, Lotto, also wanted to give me the opportunity to race in the spring classics at home: Le Samyn, Through Flanders, and the Tour of Flanders. That's how, to my surprise and the team's, I fell in love with pavé. I love the chaos."

The test was perfectly passed, and while she has established a great relationship with pavé, her relationship with the weather is different. "I hate cycling in the rain. If a single drop fell in Mexico, training would be canceled. Here, I have to endure it. Every time I have to race in Belgium, I practically look at the weather forecast a month in advance, praying it doesn't rain. If I hear a drop, I panic. My Belgian teammates were born in the rain; I wasn't. But I know I can learn this too, and I'm already doing so."