The generations of young people who have transformed Chente Garcia Acosta (50 years old) in a character thanks to the series ‘The least expected day’ probably do not know his career as a cyclist. Always in the structure of Eusebio Unzué (in Banesto as a rider, in Movistar as director), the Navarrese won stages in the Tour and in the Vuelta, but has become a television celebrity for his intervention in the documentary about the life of his equipment. On the second rest day of the Vuelta a España he spoke with ABC.
-What is special about the Vuelta?
-Two stages in Holland, different roads, similar Vuelta, I don’t know how many high finishes.
-Does your team change because of the points issue?
-No. Here we have the idea of running as usual. See how Enric is feeling day by day, and if he continues to do well as he is, we’re going to score points, that’s for sure. That is our objective, to wrap up Enric and for him to be in front.
-Everything a letter is not a risk?
-Yes, good. We cannot go thinking that we are going to have a mishap. Bad luck must have already finished us with the Tour and with other moments of the season. You have to think optimistically and with the clear idea of looking for a good general with Enric. In the event that it goes wrong, then we would have to look for other alternatives, stages or whatever. All the runners are fine here.
-Does the urgency of the points force you to be a more aggressive team?
-Or vice versa. The same forces us to save what we have, and if it can be improved, even better. Current cycling is like this with the issue of points and that’s how we have to run given our situation. If we’d been a little lucky this year, maybe we’d run a different way.
-You have been in this team for 27 years, between rider and director. How is this uncertainty managed?
-Well, it’s difficult, because we’re used to fighting for victory in the world rankings, not fighting for not being relegated. The recipe is to give people peace of mind, we can’t all get nervous because then things don’t work out. In the Vuelta we want Enric, Valverde and Verona to be well, they are the ones with points. And very important is the alternative calendar, you have to be finer. It has forced us to leave the team. Aramburu, Cortina, Erviti or Gorka Izaguirre would be safe in the Vuelta or in the Tour, but we have to distribute them.
-Have they been wrong about something?
-Well, I don’t know, but something could be seen coming with the loss of very good runners. We are missing the second line, which is the one that gives you peace of mind with the points. This is a roller coaster. We’ve been up, we’re down, and we’ll be back up. Remember Jumbo when he was White. You have to assimilate the situation and give each one the best.
-Many fans do not know that you were an elite runner and won stages in the Tour, but you have become a celebrity for the documentary ‘The least expected day’. How are you doing?
I’m getting used to all this. Wherever I go, people yell at me “Chente” or “la fuga de la fuga” or “cagüen sos”. The series has helped us to let people see how a team works, through thick and thin. You have to live with it. I wear it decently.
What do they remind you of the most?
– Well, maybe the escape of the escape (escaping from a group of escapees). ‘Shit you are’, too. But the escape of the escape I already said it 24 years ago, when I got into the breakaways of the Tour or the Vuelta. I am amazed that it has gone so viral.
«The idea is to run as always, see how Enric is feeling and tuck him in, so that he is ahead»
-I do not remember well. In that stage of the Tour 97 that he won in Draguignan, did he break away from the breakaway?
-Of course, of course. We were fourteen, I attacked and three stayed, Nicolas Jalabert, Pascal Hervé and me. It was one of the escape book of the escape. Then you have to have legs to finish off, but there was a leak from the leak.
-He has built a character.
-No, not that. I am like that, it is not that there is a character, it is my way of being and the way I have to say things, as an old man. Naturalness and spontaneity is what makes people stay with my phrases.
-And how does a traditionalist like you live with the modernity of watts, nutritionists, technology?
-I also know about watts and all that, huh. But it is a way to encourage the kids. This is 21 days and you can’t be on the watts screen all the time. In the end, they also miss a motivational and old-fashioned meeting.
