YesErg Samitier He speaks as he runs: with spark, without hiding and always with an image at hand. On the eve of the Spanish Championships, he watches the course, measures his strength and turns the tactics into a game of chess. Then he lends himself to the fast game, where he also leaves the responses of an old cyclist in a body that is still fighting.
Ask. How do you see these Championships? Are there options at Cofidis?
Answer. That we are three. It is a route that passes through the province, through Huesca, so I more or less know everything. They are not very hard, you get that level. It is not as hard as other national ones. For example, you watch the French national team and it’s all up and down. There the strongest will win. In these championships there is a lot of toughness, but in the end it is only 20 kilometers with two or three slopes. It will be tough, because they always play tough, but they are very tactical.
Q. He runs at home, in Aragón.
A. It is known that here, being so tactical, teams with many people, Movistar, a Kern Pharma, a Caja Rural, can play their tricks better and control the race better. We have it very complicated. We have two bishops, which are Ion Izagirre and Alex Aranburu, and a knight, which is me. Now you have to play against all the other teams’ pawns.
Q. And that’s where the role of Gorka Guerrikagoitia, its director, comes in.
R. Gorka is largely responsible. He is the one who is going to play the chess game. He has two bishops and a knight, and he has to manage to win the game with that. But he is a great chess master. I think the victory has to be earned. It’s key. We are three plus Gorka. If Gorka does well, tomorrow we win. I don’t want to put pressure on it from here, but it is an important piece. He is the one who is going to play the game and has to be very intelligent.
Q. Then Alex Aranburu and Ion Izagirre go to the Tour, and they are there to win.
A. I think Gorka knows how to checkmate with two bishops. From here I send all the pressure to Gorka. We can get it. I come from Dauphiné as is, with a fall and a cold, but the horse is going to help the bishops win.
Q. Let’s go with the short test: Long and eternal pass or explosive slope that leaves you soulless?
A. The Tourmalet. Well, that’s it, long port.
Q. Break day with rain or calm stage at 40 degrees?
R. Quiet stage at 40 degrees.
Q. The group: survival, art or science?
A. I don’t understand this question. If you’re in the group it’s because you’re screwed. Survival, yes.
Q. Which cyclist in the peloton do you think would be the worst roommate?
A. I don’t know, I can’t tell you. It’s just that I put people in a commitment here now. I’ve been lucky, I’ve had good roommates.
Q. And the best to go to dinner after a stage?
A. To anyone. I’ll take anyone.
Q. What is more difficult, winning a stage or choosing well at a hotel buffet after 200 kilometers?
A. It must be more difficult to win a stage, because I haven’t achieved it yet. Eat, eat well.
Q. Tortilla with onion or without onion?
A. With onion. And the pizza without pineapple. And coffee and toast, without bars or gels.
Q. Coffee before leaving or is it one of those that leaves already plugged in?
A. Coffee, coffee.
Q. What song cannot be missing on the bus before a stage?
R. Whatever the French give you.
Q. Who is the biggest joker on the team?
A. Me.
Q. And who complains the most when it’s time to get up early?
A. The French get up very early, so I still complain.
Q. What is the first thing you do when you arrive at the hotel: shower, food, cell phone?
A. When we arrive at the hotel we have already showered from the bus. Direct massage normally.
Q. More afraid of a fan, a sterrato or a wet descent?
A. To a fan.
Q. What phrase is repeated the most on the earpiece?
A. It depends on who is in the handset.
Q. When Gerri is there.
A. “I don’t want to cry.” A very typical phrase from Gerri: “I don’t want you to cry.”
Q. If you weren’t a cyclist, what would you be?
A. I don’t know. What I would have proposed. In the end, any of us thinks: with the hours we spend on a bicycle, we would be engineers, doctors and astronauts.
Q. What is the whim of another week?
A. I don’t know. As the days go by, whims appear.
Q. Which teammate looks more like a sports director in football?
R. Ugh, Ion Izagirre, to say.
Q. What defines professional cycling in three words?
A. Very, very hard.
Q. Attack from afar and hit the ground running or not attack and regret it all night?
A. We have to attack.
Q. But running or on foot?
A. On foot.
Q. What is more dangerous, a technical descent or having breakfast after a bad stage?
A. I’m being very egocentric, right? Me, me, me… The most dangerous is Nacho Labarga after a period with the newspaper, that’s for sure.
Q. They go out to train without…
A. Have breakfast.
