Sounds Rocio Garcia cheerful from first thing in the morning. Her six feet six inches and less than fifty kilos of weight are pure ambition, even when she is asked about a major challenge, such as some Tokyo 2020 Olympic GamesWhat am I going to tell you? Well, I'm going out to win.
So begins, strong, a talk made in the cool of Navacerrada, soaked by June storms, which came after the first heat of the not yet released summer. Rocío García is the soul of BH Templo Cafés, a double-edged sword: sympathy and sweetness that do not camouflage the competitiveness that oozes from all four sides.
"My first memory of the Olympic Games was the London 2012 MTB race, the famous one that Marco Aurelio finished it without a saddle. I was coming back from cycling and I saw it at my aunt's house and I really wanted to be there someday," recalls Rocío García.
She already has it in her hand, she will be in one of those, in Tokyo 2020, an event that will be held a year late, which, for Rocío, does not mean a problem, perhaps quite the opposite: "I am 23 years old and therefore one more year of experience. I feel like a more experienced runner, more mature. You work for 2020, but, for the circumstances we know, it is postponed. However, you never lose focus, the goal is still Tokyo”.
By points and criteria he has had the place tied up for almost two years, a circumstance that has given him the peace of mind to focus his work very specifically on Tokyo. "The road is hard, the sporting requirements are many, but I got it from being seventh at the world championships in Canada"continues Rocío.
A path on which she had to reinvent herself: "When the confinement began, we started to do another type of preparation, more gym, other routines. But we never slacked off.
There is no other goal than winning
In September 2019, he was at the pre-Olympic event and got to know the course.
"I recognized it first on foot, which is not usually very common. I remember the French women talking about very small plates because of how it was set up, based on a lot of very hard downhill and uphill chutes. It is a circuit that has a large explosive component, to get out in front in the most complicated sections, and then a more technical part. The key is to be as far ahead as possible, and to depend on yourself".
"The Tokyo 2020 course seemed very original to me, honestly. I wouldn't know how to compare it with a similar one" concludes Rocío García.
She goes out, as we said at the beginning, for the big prize, a gold medal as big as a big sun: "It's the Olympic GamesAs Carlos -Coloma- told me one day, we can't come here to watch them pass by, we don't know if we will come back in the future”.
She, better than anyone, can say that Gobik has always been by her side. "I've been Gobik since the beginning, since I joined the Coloma Bike Club, five years ago. They are pieces that have evolved a lot, but if I have to define them in one way it would be the word: comfort."
He especially values "the racing suit, it fits very well, it's very comfortable, made to perform.. Then I always wear the vest with me, just in case it happens. They have a variety of pieces, all of them fulfill their function”.
Rocio Garcia will land in Tokyo 2020 days before her competition. Her race is scheduled for Tuesday, July 27, early in the morning, Japan time. On that day, at that time, she will still be 23 years old, but she will run as if the world is coming to an end, without waiting for the train to pass, knowing that "being ahead and avoiding mishaps will be the key".
ByThe Notebook ofJoan Follower
Photos Silvia Fernández Sainz
