MADRID, 7 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The cyclist José Antonio Hermida, Olympic runner-up in mountain biking at the Athens 2004 Games, stressed that the level of amateur mountain biking is “brutal” before his next challenge, the debut in the Skoda Titan Almería next October .
One of the only four Spanish ‘bikers’ to have won an Olympic medal, along with Marga Fullana, Carlos Coloma and David Valero, with five participations in the Olympic Games, world champion, former world number one in XCO (Olympic cross country) and winner of several World Cup events continues with the same enthusiasm and hunger to continue discovering mountain biking.
At 44, Hermida still has adventures ahead of her. “I am in another phase of my professional life. Quieter and out of the World Cup, but at a time that allows me to continue exploring. I find other ways of running and mountain biking. And one of those experiences that I was missing was a race of this type, like the Skoda Titan Desert Almería”, he explained.
Hermida has been able to spend a few days exploring part of the terrain in Almería, but she acknowledged that she has never competed in this province. “I am new to this racing format. Even so, these days that I have been able to be in Almería I have been very surprised. It is a terrain in which you have a lot of unique elements: the Tabernas desert, Cabo de Gata… I really want to meet him on the bike,” he said.
To be at the head of the race, Hermida said that there is no more secret than training. “It doesn’t have much of a secret. Being there for four days requires being in good shape. What I want is to discover Almería and its surroundings. Also, this is a type of format that has something very cool about it. It’s a meeting between pros and amateurs These are unique occasions for those of us who are referents and those of us who have been professionals to live with those people who follow us”, he highlighted.
Cyclists who have the “competitive gene” like him, even if they say they want to finish the race when they put on the number, they will want to go fast. “The most important thing for me is to have fun. I don’t think I’ll ask Tomi Misser, Carlos Coloma or David Valero for advice. I’m going on an adventure. Let them tell me about the type of tire or how to manage the boulevards or the sand,” he said.
Regarding the current moment of his sport, both amateur and professional, he pointed out that a kind of “democratization of the mountain bike” is taking place. “It is in every house. I always say that in every garage there is a soccer ball and a mountain bike. The good thing right now is that all cycling disciplines are having a lot of visibility: road, gravel, mountain bike I think that before cycling was more of a niche, but since 2018 or 2019 habits have changed and sport is more integrated into the whole of society”, he compared.
At the national level, among the fans the bar is, according to him, very high. “We are seeing the health of the mountain bike and a level that is brutal. At a competitive level I have more doubts. We have had very, very good moments in history. Right now David Valero is an absolute number one in the world, but it is David Valero. There have been other moments, from 2008 to 2012, when there was a great generation of riders and we had a handful of riders in the top 20. Now there is David as number one, but I think there is little volume. Those second swords are missing accompany that arrowhead that is Valero,” he lamented.
On whether he will compete in other events of the Titan World Series, Hermida was blunt: “Surely yes. The good thing about mountain biking is that it allows you to test yourself on a lot of routes, terrains and different places. I am very fond of snacking and testing riding on sand, on stone, downhill, in boulevards. It’s a bit of the essence of mountain biking and I’m sure that in the future I’ll try it in some other race in the Titan universe,” he said.