"My whole life has revolved around the world of motorcycles, my work, my sports career... everything linked to them."
So begins our chat about cycling, training and life with Aleix Espargaró, starting from a premise: Where does this passion for cycling come from?
"For my physical preparation I used to practice running, but I hurt my back when I fell and broke two vertebrae and from then on I banned impact sports", he tells us. Eleven years have passed since then, and that's where cycling came from.
Before that change, I just followed cycling, like other sports. Nothing to do with how I follow it now. I remember when I started cycling. I had a certain relationship with Purito, we were from two nearby towns, he from Parets and I from Granollers. From those days on we became good friends.
So much so that Aleix began to frequent races invited by the cyclist. "I was in the Vuelta and the Tour, I went to see him in places like Tourmalet. He was among the best in the world and he had a great influence on my love for cycling".
Cycling idols and friends
He reviews some photos from that period: "I look at them and what strikes me most is how little we were dressed together. We wore bib of one color, a mailot of another. Everything was very fluorine, perhaps influenced by the bike, but on the bike everything was more neutral".
He continues: "Reaching 30 km/h on average was a national holiday."
During this time, he has cultivated his passion for cycling in two ways. As a fan, he has developed a great admiration for Marco Pantani: "He is a person who has marked me. I've read, heard and seen a lot about him. I met his mother and visited his museum in Cesenativo".
The passion crossed over to his work, motorcycles: "I dedicated a helmet to him as a tribute to his memory with his logo in fluorescent yellow: Il Pirata. I made two, his mother was in a grand prix and when he finished I gave him the one I raced with. Today it is in his museum. The other one I keep at home, as well as a Bianchi from the last Tour de France he raced".
Of the current ones he admits that "one of my best friends is a cyclist, Enric Mas, one of the best in the world. On a human level he is a 10 and as a cyclist, an 11. It was a shame how he abandoned the Tour, he had an incredible form. He was going very fast after the bike. I hope he hasn't lost too much form for the Vuelta".
He has also struck up a good relationship with José Joaquín Rojas, Carlos Verona and Juanjo Lobato, among others.
Training with cyclists
For Aleix, the value of cyclists lies not only in what they are capable of doing on the bike. "On a human level I value them a lot, they are born sufferers. On a bad day, they don't cut or remove a port from their training. Suffering is in their DNA and I admire that and it influences the way they are: many great athletes tend to be greedy, reserved and cold, but I see cyclists as humble and approachable".
For him, cycling is more than routine, it's a passion that drives him to constant improvement. "Because of my job I admit that I train in a polarized way, although if I'm at home all week, I do blocks of three days of cycling and one of active rest doing rolling, walking, swimming...".
They leave a few weeks of about twenty hours on the bike, although "more than three days in Andorra is hard because of the amount of ports there. I usually go out between 3 and 5 hours and in summer I like to go out quietly, explore and put in the hours. In winter, we go more to the area of La Seu, it's very cold and the passes can be closed".
A ride of 4 hours and 3000 meters could be the standard one, the one to walk around the house, although the day we talked to him, he had just done La Purito by himself: 6 hours and 5000 meters. "Since I'm not there on the day it's held, I like to do it alone," he says.
Places to get in shape
He likes to get lost in "Cabús and Cortalls d' Encamp, for the views, although nothing like La Gallina, it is very hard. I can climb it five or six times a year".
Hidden place?
"Without a doubt, the Vall de Sorteny in Grandvalira, El Tarter. When the national road ends, another very narrow road follows, not very steep. It's 5 kilometers at about 2000 meters and it takes you nowhere."
"Honestly, I really like cycling, but it's also very good for my job. I'm six feet tall and 65 kg, with it I do good cardio and it helps me maintain my weight. You acquire discipline in nutrition and it gives you a plus It gives you a sense of lucidity in the hard moments of the big prizes that you only reach when you push your body to the limit," he explains.
And he adds: "You have to train at home.
We finished with Aleix, and solved a question that haunts us all the time. He told us how he used to dress when he started cycling and it has nothing to do with the present. "Now I really go with style, without a doubt, whether it's custom or vintage clothing. The aesthetics of Gobik I love it.
"I'm sticking with the bib "Ultralite"It's a work of art, it looks like it's going without anything, and the great all-rounder, the vest “Eminent". It is my favorite garment, it gives me life. The weather is very variable in Andorra, even if you go out in August you can get to 8 degrees. You can wear it folded up and take it out to keep warm.
He also sees it in the MovistarThey're delighted with the waterproof clothing from Gobik. We go out at - 8 degrees and they spend the day well. The progress and value of the brands is seen in the winter clothing".
Eye has been linked to the brand since 2017, no less, and knows the garments and what's on offer well. "Six years seems like a lot, but change is night and day, they've gone on to win races like the Tour, wear teams like the Movistar. You go out on a bike and everyone is wearing Gobik”.
