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Raisa Álava Robina (Zuaza, Álava) is a Spanish illustrator and artist who has drawn for events and media all over the world.

She studied Fine Art at the University of the Basque Country, specialising in graphic art.

She normally draws on paper, and she likes to draw by hand. She mainly creates her drawings using rotring.

In terms of the style of her illustrations, comics are her reference and most important source of inspiration.

She has worked for The New York Times and Pikara Magazine. She has created posters for various events, such as BALA, Bilbao's art book fair, as well as the poster for the 2023 Tour de France.

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Some paths are destined to meet. Although the perspective of time may make it seem impossible. Raisa Álava loved her bike, just like many other girls her age. When you're young, a bike is like a door to freedom.

Who doesn't remember their first bike? Like most people, Raisa remembers hers well: “My first bike was a BH, definitely the prettiest one I've ever had. It was pink and covered with stickers, and apart from its functionality, for me it was an amazing companion. Also, both of us from Álava, what more can you ask.”

Until now, nothing out of the ordinary. Raisa grew up, and over time, that pink BH became just a childhood memory. It was therefore impossible to imagine that bikes and BH would end up having such an impact on her career.

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Her love for bikes never went away. “I really like riding my bike and I use it every day to move around the city, I like the autonomy it gives you and the feeling of the wind, and even the rain, it gives me a lot of energy.”

The bike also ended up being part of an important life event. A negative one, in theory, but one that perhaps opened a door to a new world.

Two years ago I had a bike accident, I fell, and a bus almost ran over me. As a result, I broke my foot and they had to operate on me. I couldn't move for the entire summer and that was when drawing jobs began to arrive. I don't know if I believe in karma, but in this case, there has to be some kind of link.

And a job arrived of the kind that occupies a prominent place on your CV. Related to bikes, of course. Raisa won the competition to design the poster for the start of the 2023 Tour de France in Bilbao.

The Tour de France is the most important cycling event worldwide and one of the sporting events with most reach globally. The Basque Country is a region in which people are passionate about cycling. With this context, it's clear that this poster will be the most popular of all her work and also the one with the greatest reach. A world showcase for her and her work.

Her poster for the Tour de France in Bilbao is full of colour and reflects elements of the landscape that characterise the area she grew up in.

Sea and mountains, together with the passion and speed associated with competition cycling.

And, as it turns out, it wouldn't be the only job related to cycling that she would do. BH arrived, coming full circle and reuniting Raisa Álava with her memories of that pink BH bike she started out with. Together with Shimano, BH asked her to customise an already spectacular BH Aerolight, its top-of-the-range model for road racing.

And the result is clear to see. In line with her style inspired by comics, drawings by hand, intense colours and inspiration from the area in which she lives, created this impressive decoration, making it one of the most iconic BH bikes in the history of the brand.

surprised me about this bike is how light it is. Parts of the drawing give a nod to this, the sense of speed, going downhill, etc. The overarching idea was for it to be fun.I wanted it to pay homage to my first bike, a boldness for those looking back on the bike with nostalgia, recalling those fluorescent colours that were all the rage in the 90s. When you're young, you dare to do things that, when you're older, you give up due to embarrassment, even fun things.

Raisa, together with BH Bikes and in collaboration with Shimano, has customised an Aerolight frame from BH's road racing range. She drew on inspiration from her love of the rural area where she lives and from a region with a strong link to cycling. And in a small homage to the brand from Álava, BH, which she has known since she was a child.

Equipped with the new Shimano Dura-Ace, this BH Aerolight has become something of a work of art and, as such, will be exhibited at various international events that BH is taking part in, starting with the Eurobike trade show held from 23 to 25 June.

These are the locations and dates where you will be able to see the BH Aerolight customised by Raisa Álava: