Rouleur
DOB 13-09-2006
AGE OF DIAGNOSIS 15
YEARS WITH TEAM 2
Never see diabetes as a limitation. It’s a condition that requires discipline and commitment. Listen to your body, trust yourself, and surround yourself with supportive people. Diabetes doesn’t define who you are — it makes you stronger and more aware.
PROFILE
At 19, Juan Jose Lopez is the youngest rider on Team Novo Nordisk’s professional roster, and he arrives there quickly: one season on the development team was enough to earn the step up for 2026.
Lopez was born and raised in Vélez-Rubio, in the province of Almería in Andalusia. He had a busy athletic childhood, trying a range of sports before settling on cycling, first on both mountain bike and road, then committing to the road when he joined the Valverde Development Team as a junior.
He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 15. He was frightened at first, but his family doctor reassured him quickly: he did not have to stop playing sport, and staying active would help him manage the condition. That same doctor, along with a group of friends, was how he first heard about Team Novo Nordisk.
He attended the team’s talent ID camp in Italy in 2024 and joined the development squad for 2025. Strong rides at the Czech Tour, the Tour of the Gila and the Tour of Hellas across that season established him as a rouleur with a finishing kick and were enough to move him to the professional team a year later.
Off the bike, Lopez enjoys hiking and spending time with friends and family.