Today Iñigo Cuesta commands the ship of Cronos, the project that emerged last summer as Casa Dorada and which will dress Gobik.
"They were looking for a sober and elegant design. Dominating the black with sleeves in intense blue as the logo of its main sponsor" describes Angel Lencia, product development at Gobik.
Gobik is "our skin, our image, and we are going to wear that elegance halfway around the world.
That sober but elegant jersey thirteen girls will wear it, among them the Polish Jasinska Malgorzata, champion of her country, recently landed from the Movistar. She will be the most famous face and with her five Spaniards: Sandra Alonso, Einara Lopez, Cristina Martinez, Ainara Elbusto and Lidia Iglesias.
"Above all, I want a united group that is more than just individuals," says Íñigo.
All this comes from a Vuelta a Burgos in which Iñigo met Carlos Presencio, owner of the Cronos brand, dedicated to water purifiers. "We sounded him out, he was delighted with the race and the atmosphere, since we talked about it we have been working for a year and a half to get to this point".
They come with the idea of something big, transcendent, with the support of the Consejo Superior de Deporte, within the "Universo" program. Women"and the intention of participating in colloquiums, talks and all kinds of events where they are required to raise awareness through sport against scourges such as mistreatment or problems such as disability.
Iñigo Cuesta
Those of us who remember with a certain nostalgia the Vuelta a España in April, have in mind a shy, sharp, young man from Burgos in the heart of the Euskadi. It was 94, twenty-five springs and Iñigo Cuesta is still alive in our memory.
A lot has happened since then. I can't complain about the way cycling has treated me," Iñigo says slowly, "it was 18 years in pros, it was a long career, with unique moments such as the Vuelta a España in which I made my debut, the last one in April".
He entered cycling dominated by names like Tony Rominger and Miguel Indurain. He left when Cadel Evans was crowned winner of the Tour. What a privileged sporting career, what a long-lived experience and surely one that was full of unique moments.
"If I had to choose a couple of instants....That Vuelta al País Vasco that I win with ONCE was mythical, it was in Euskadi, my place. I also remember that time trial in Ordino in the Volta a Catalunya" he recalls.
A wealth of experience applied to women's cycling
All that baggage, days of competition, countries, places, experiences, all of this has made Íñigo Cuesta want to try his hand at women's cycling.
My life has always revolved around cycling," he continues. I went through an operation on my left knee, recovered my strength and focused on progressing in this world. I wanted to work with a professional team until I had direct contact with women's cycling, it was in the Vuelta a Burgos, I was impressed by what I saw".
And what did you see?
"I really liked the commitment the girls showed to cycling, how motivated they were, and it wasn't easy, we know how women's cycling is. In a way they reminded me of when I was young," she says.
Five years have passed since then, today women's cycling has improved by leaps and bounds: "It's much better racing, it's a delight to see the riders moving through the peloton, we also see more women's cycling on television which I hope will eventually help to put them on a par with the men, from the minimum and up".
Texts: JoanSeguidor's Notebook
