Cycling has been a good seedbed for the Spanish box in the Olympic Games
This is an appropriate tour at the beginning of the year in question, a tour of the names and exploits of Spanish cycling in the Olympic Games.
This is a story of success and good joys that have deteriorated over time, as we have seen in London, Rio – with Purito near the podium – and Tokyo, where Spanish cycling has not given the shine of yesteryear in an event the size of the Olympic Games,
And it is a shame because the event has given a lot for our sport, from Jaime Huélamo himself and his positive result in Munich 72.
Paradoxically, Miguel Indurain is the long-distance runner with the greatest Olympic background.
He began as an unknown person living the Olympic honeymoon at the twilight of his career. Two North American cities also mark this period.
In 1984 he was part of the team that took part in Los Angeles. The former national team, Paco Antequera, participated with him, in fact the only one to finish, he was twenty-third, the sprinter Manuel Jorge Domínguez and José Salvador Sanchís. Twelve years later and three Olympics later, Indurain returned, now in Atlanta, to take part in some games. He did so by deciding his fate shortly before the celebration. He had just given what should have been his sixth Tour to Rijs and his performance did not provide guarantees.
However, It was in Atlanta where Miguel Indurain completed his last great work. He was time trial champion ahead of Abraham Olano, with Britain’s Boardman in third position. The first Olympic time trial had none other than the five-time Tour winner in first position.
In the Atlanta road test the outcome was not so opportune for Spanish interests. The court formed by Pascal Richard, Rolf Sorensen and Max Sciandri triumphed. The Spanish delegation lacked sense of smell. Melchor Mauri, sixth, was the best of ours. Then, as now, the Olympic distance race was a toss-up. Only five runners selected per country made this a competition alien, on many occasions, to all logic. Indurain wanted to have Marino Alonso, but he alone was not enough to contain the test.
The other two participants were the current world and Spanish champions, Abraham Olano and Manuel Fernández Ginés.
Like Indurain, Samuel Sánchez and Joan Llaneras have been Olympic champions. The Mallorcan took gold in Sydney in his best specialty, scoring. That year he was also world champion in Manchester. In fact, in the Mallorcan we find a career that goes beyond that gold, because in Athens he won silver, also on points, while he earned a diploma, sixth at the end in Atlanta, where he was also part of the quartet of presession that ended fifth. In the chapter of the Spanish fund, we highlight the extraordinary harvest of Atenas with two bronze medals in both pursuits, in the individual with Sergi Escobar and in the collective with Carles Torrent, Asier Maeztu, Carlos Castaño and again Escobar.
And of course Samuel Sánchez in Beijing, leading that dream team.
That Saturday morning in August, an Asturian gave us a huge prize as soon as the Beijing event began.
Speed, for its part, has its zenith on a hot July night at the Barcelona velodrome.. On the wooden banks of Cameroon, the city of Barcelona experienced José Manuel Moreno’s gold medal in the kilometer with special effervescence, the first for the hosts in those games. Born in Amsterdam and the son of immigrants, Moreno lived his life in Chiclana de la Frontera. In Barcelona he achieved his greatest milestone, but not the only one, since a year before he was world champion in Stuttgart. He was in three Olympics. In Seoul he competed in speed, being eighth, in Atlanta, also in speed he fell in the round of 16. There José Antonio Escuredo made his debut in the kilometer, far from the best, thirteenth. The Catalan burned other games, those in Sydney, to finally rise to the podium, already in Athens, being Olympic runner-up in keirin.
From Momeñe to Hélamo
Several Olympic cyclists deserve a stop along the way to be remembered. The best Spaniard in the long-distance event in Rome 1960 was José Antonio Momeñe. Originally from Vizcaya, he was one of the most illustrious unknowns in our cycling since to his credit we have a complete fourth place in the 1964 Tour, which Aimar won. A small, fine and very regular climber, Momeñe was 16th in the Roman Olympics. He was accompanied by others such as Ignacio Astigarraga and Ramón Sáez, bronze in the 1967 World Cup and winner in several stages of the Vuelta. Four years later, in Tokyo came José López’s fifth place. Leonese from the beautiful province of Laciana, known in the peloton as “pancho” coined the best result of a Spanish runner in the distance test of some games. It was that year that the Lasa family entered Olympic history. First with José Manuel and four years later with Miguel Mari, who accompanied by Gómez Lucas, González Linares and Jiménez achieved a discreet eleventh place in the team time trial, with the Spanish group being the current winner of the Belgian Grand Prix, a great reference in testing. timed by teams of the time.
Spanish cycling could have had an Olympic podium thanks to Jaime Huélamo had it not been for his positive test in Munich 72. The man from Cuenca finished third in a race that Kuiper won. Shortly after, it was learned that he tested positive for coralline, a substance banned by the IOC but not by the UCI. New Zealander Bruce Biddle, bronze for all intents and purposes, benefited from such legal loopholes. Professional a year later, Huélamo would leave cycling after three years of being a professional. Another place of merit was achieved by Bernardo Alfonsel from Madrid who entered tenth in Montreal 76.
In Barcelona 92 the Spanish team was made up of Ángel Edo, Kiko García and Eleuterio Mancebo. The best was Edo, fifteenth. In the 100 kilometer team time trial the Spanish group finished fifth.
Despite the remoteness of those times, and the excellent prospects that the Spanish peloton currently offers when we talk about one-day events, the Olympic gold is still not celebrated in the end. In Sydney Oscar Freire, who arrived as the current world champion, could not get past 17th place. That day, three riders from the same team, Ullrich, Vinokourov and Kloden, were several points ahead of the rest. In the Australian time trial Olano came fourth and therefore one step away from repeating the podium. He had Ekimov, Ullrich and Armstrong ahead of him.
Already in Athens, the hills of Parthenon witnessed the exhibition of Paolo Bettini, with Sergio Paulino welded to his wheel, and the misfortune of the Spanish team. Despite once again having the world champion, Igor Astarloa, surrounded by Alejandro Valverde and Oscar Freire, our options plummeted at the pace set by the falls and collapses.
Another character with extensive Olympic career has been Joane Somarriba. The best rider in the history of Spanish cycling debuted in Atlanta with a discreet 21st place overall but a promising result in the time trial: 13th. After four years she reached her best time in the time trial, fifth.
His presence in Athens resulted in double seventh place.
Let’s see when Spanish cycling returns to contribute and add to the cause in the Olympic Games.
2024-01-23 23:23:06
#Erik #Zabel #entered #leading #group #rarely #failed
