We still remember the first David de la Cruz, that skinny cyclist thattired of injuries from athletics and who was told that cycling could be his thing.. Much has happened since then, a professional who learned his trade on the fly, who had to quickly get used to things as trivial as being in a peloton or managing the descents.
Today David de la Cruz is a cyclist appreciated in UAE Team Emirates and in the peloton, respected and with a career that brings together all kinds of moments, but all of them profitable: "I couldn't tell you where I am in my career," he says in the hours before the Vuelta a Burgos. I'll see as I go along. I can say that 2021 has not been an easy year. My focus was on the Tour and after that, on the Olympic Games".
Both events have not been possible, but the Vuelta a España will be: "I've been able to prepare it with care and detail. I arrive in August with 29 days of competition and that is to arrive hungry at the start".
Ready for the Vuelta
In Burgos he is racing his last race before the Vuelta, and from Burgos he will start the third big one of the year: "I hope to be fresh. What would be a good result? Certainly as close to the top five as possible. I've already finished in the top ten and now it's time to be ambitious".
The Vuelta is his race
He has held it in a special place since that afternoon when he won in El Naranco, a stage that made him leader for a few days. "What moments those were, it was my first win and in the Vuelta no less. Those days stayed with me and helped me to win other races that I keep fondly".
Triumphs on stages such as the Boulevard des Anglais in Nice, in two epilogues of the "race to the sun", or Itzulia. Few but excellent victories that make him have parish in different parts of the peninsula.
Maybe that's why he doesn't mark a day in red for the Vuelta: "I'm not going to be a winner.It's a very entertaining race from the start," continues David de la Cruz. That first week with complicated finishes, like the Balcón de Alicante, whose design seems brutal to me. Before that we will have passed Picón Blanco, which is very beautiful. Also the second in Andalucía, where the heat will be the protagonist, but surely also the public and the final week with an exceptional hardness. It is a race that motivates me”.
In the Vuelta, David de la Cruz hopes to be a mainstay for UAE Team Emirates. A task that he combines with the excellent performances he has been able to give in favor of third parties. To his credit, last year's Tour that he raced with a broken sacrum from the start and managed to finish to be a friendly wheel for Tadej Pogačar in the final stages.
David keeps that Tour with affection. About the present he was able to enjoy the triumph of Pogačar with perspective: "I think it was a Tour in phases. In the first he was able to open some beastly differences and in the second he was dedicated to temporize. In both he was the best by far. I've been in cycling for a long time and it's tremendous how easy he makes things that are very difficult".
For him, for UAE Team Emirates and for Gobikand for UAE Team Emirates, this Tour has been very special. David knows Gobik for a long time, but working with the brand this year has been a discovery.Sincerely, I am very satisfied, and not only because of the material, it is the human treatment, the closeness of its people, who are attentive and willing to listen to us".
"I have seen in Gobik -he continues- a relatively young group of entrepreneurs in this world that competes with the best brands in the market.. Everything that is happening in the UAE Team Emirates can only catapult him further. It has a top product development. It's a win-win for everyone.
If she has to keep a garment, she doesn't hesitate: "The bib Absolute World Tour is a winning piece. For me, there is a key point for the development of my profession, the chamois and comfort is key with so many hours on the bike. Other garments that I value a lot are the rain gear.
David reveals that his partner has a women's group in Andorra under the name WOW -Woman on Wheels-: "They use Gobik and they are delighted".
Looking to the future, David hopes to continue adding to a trajectory that already has good notches: "I don't know how the fans see me, what I do know is that I am very demanding and critical of myself.". The Vuelta is the next stop.
PhotosBettiniPhoto / Fizza Photo
