For Fernando Gaviria, the last few years have not been easy. His life has had to go through tests that he did not expect. The pandemic, the team change, personal matters. However, today he has strong motivations to focus on being strong. Being strong on the bike to get back to the level that made him the best sprinter in the world.
In the UAE Emirates he had good moments, but he also saw how his level was not the same as before when he won everything in the Quick Step. Something normal in cycling in which every year there are more cyclists who want to compete for everything and one more incentive to try againnow far from the emirate.
He arrived at Movistar and the change served not only to give him a new opportunity to finish first in the sprints, but also to renew his life and the way he runs. The Spaniards took him to secure stage victories, never mind that he did not have a train to launch him to the finish. They trust his style of long, deep slams and his power. The one that still holds.
Gaviria is satisfied with what has been done this year, but he wants more. He doesn’t settle. He won a stage in the Vuelta a San Juan and was very close in the UAE Tour, the Tirreno Adriatico and the Milano Torino. He will do more races in Belgium, but his main challenge of the year is the Giro d’Italia. The cyclamen shirt awaits you in a country where it has already made history.
The runner talked about his season, the victory in San Juan, his former teammate Maximiliano Richeze, how packaging has changed and of his return to the track where he will practice before the Giro d’Italia.
His arrival at the Movistar Team
How did you feel at Movistar?
“Pretty good, happy with the team, with the whole structure in general and there are things that we still need to improve, but we are in the process and in this challenge we have done well. I would like it to be better for us, but it is a process in which both parties are contributing to improve it”.
You have had a good start to the season. Do you think that your arrival at Movistar has renewed you?
“In part it has been an important change because it is a team in which they have not had a sprinter as such, so what is important for both parties is what we contribute. There is a lot to improve and a lot to work on because we don’t want to settle for just doing well but we also want to get victories and it’s a process that has taken a bit of time, but we have been improving in many aspects”.
Did you feel the victory in San Juan as a relief?
“Yes, it was a victory that we wanted. I wanted to test my legs, it was a pretty tough race, but there I felt the work of the whole team and I felt that they trusted me because all my teammates gave their all and it was nothing more than giving my all to get the win” .
What does Movistar ask for in a package?
“No, more than what the team asks of me is what I personally ask of myself and that is that I want to win stages and I am in that process. The team needs to be adapted for the sprint because the races are different from those in the mountains and on the flat we have to take advantage of every moment. The team wants the same thing and we are on the same page”.
Do you think they hired you to never be in the same situation of a possibility of relegation again?
“No, I don’t really know about the team issue because it is something that is higher than my personal level. What I want to contribute are victories and show that we are at the highest level. This team deserves to be in the category because it has maintained its height for years and it is a team that has had world-class runners up to today, so it deserves to be where it is and with the new changes, the concentration and dedication of all we’ll be in the same position we’ve been in last year.”
The difficult moments of his career
Did the worst moment of your career live in the pandemic?
“No, they are issues that can happen to anyone and not all are sports issues. They have been external issues and a bit of everything, but hey, I have been overcoming them and in this team I have found the motivation and support I needed. This year I have enjoyed it much more than even when I started”.
Matxin said last year that his level is superlative, but that he needs to be more constant in training…
“Yeah. I have to push my discipline more because cycling has changed. It’s not the cycling that I knew, it’s modern, we have to take care of ourselves all year round when it comes to food, training, things other than cycling and I’m in that process. This team has given me a lot of help in that sense and we are learning all the new things to be much more professional. I am making one more effort to achieve great things and I am happy, but not satisfied”.
Why couldn’t you revalidate the duo with Maxi Richeze in the UAE?
“I don’t know. We didn’t ride the same way because cycling at that time was run differently, because the other teams were stronger, because there are stronger riders, because each year the sprints are more difficult and there are more riders and many things that are part of what has changed. in cycling. We have to adapt and the team knows it and I’m working on this to be more present in the packs”.
The goal of the year: the Giro d’Italia
What do you expect at the Giro d’Italia?
“The main objective is to try to win at the beginning, we are going to prepare very well after the races in Belgium for this. Both the team and I are willing to do a very detailed preparation and there is an excellent plan with all the coaches and managers. Now we just need to execute it and day by day improve in the aspects in which we have been weak and strengthen the others and wait for the month that remains to be in the best possible shape”.
What other goal do you have for the year?
“Right now I am focused on the Giro, working with this thought. Have a good Giro and try to get victories in Italy, which is a country that we have liked and has given us great joy. It’s what we have in mind.”
modern packaging
What has changed in the way of packaging?
“Each package is different. Every sprint is different every day. Now we see that they are more closed, almost all that we have seen in the year have defined the photo finish and it is an important point. Every decision is important in the race. There are more runners who compete in a sprint, who want to get a good position and that makes it a bit difficult. Before it was cleaner so to speak, the packers were the only ones who did that, instead now everything is a little more chaotic. But this is for everyone, it is not something that affects only one runner and the strongest always win. We have done some good ones this year and we hope that we can be ahead and thinking about winning”.
What is your favorite way to pack?
“My favorite way of packing is winning, which is what the team wants. When you win, it really doesn’t matter if you did a good sprint or not. I think when you get victories that’s what’s important.”
Is it dangerous to train on the road for a professional cyclist?
“It’s a risk. I spoke with (Juan Sebastián) Molano the day of the accident because he is a cyclist who was doing great things, he is riding very strong and he is another representative of the sprint. He is a rival, but he is also a friend and it is complicated. It is dangerous, but like everything, every job has its risk. There are sometimes drivers who take an unnecessary risk like us which is sometimes our fault. It is not to find guilty, but when you leave home the risk is there ”.
His return to the track
How is the project of your return to the track going?
“A complex issue because there are issues that we must solve and discuss with the Federation, but we are doing well. I am training, even before the Giro I will do some training on the track. I have done several important things and I have been talking with the national team about doing more races. In Antioquia, races are being implemented on Fridays both in speed and semi-distance and this is important. We need more races to define those who deserve to run the most important ones, so that they not only go by name or availability but also the strongest go”.
And do you see yourself among those who go to the World Cup and the Olympics?
“That is the goal. It is quite clear, I am following the World Cups very closely, I have not been able to go to the first two, but we have a Pan-American championship and the World Cup. But things cannot go wrong whether I go or another partner goes. Everything must be calculated to the millimeter with the points and the goal is to qualify Colombia, not as something personal but to have Colombia in the Olympics. There is potential, we need to make the most of it, but calmly and with events from the Federation and the League, in my case the one in Antioquia, it will help the National Team runners to cheer up and this will show us who deserves to be there”.
Packaging in Colombian cycling
How is packaging trained in Colombia?
“Don’t know. I’m off topic because I’m not into Colombian cycling. But surely there are team coaches who consider it”.
If you were asked to have a project for packagers, how would you handle it?
“It is complicated because it does not only depend on one person but in general on the entire country. The Colombian fans want to see climbers and hard races, so it’s difficult because they don’t lend themselves much to getting runners out of the pack. It’s something that we can’t stop doing either, we have to get high-level runners no matter what terrain”.
Do you agree with the Tour Colombia running again?
“Yes of course. It is a race that gives a lot of spectacle. It gives peace of mind and satisfaction to run at home. Many of my teammates and other teams want to race in Colombia every year and it is difficult for the fans to travel to Europe to see us race and in Colombia they make the sacrifice of going out to cheer as if it were a Tour de France. We are passionate and proud of each athlete who represents us”.
Do you think we are far from winning a big tour again?
“I don’t know if we win, but we still have very strong riders. There is Martínez, Higuita, Egan, who is an excellent rider, with a Giro y Tour which is a very large list of honors for his age, and after the accident that he is back on his bike is to be praised and admired. There are very tall runners. It cannot be said that we do not have the ability to win, only that you find stronger riders who make the difference in a time trial and that is difficult, but the talent is there and at the right time the victories will return”.