III Carrera de Escuelas Cofidis Fundación Alberto Contador
Pinto (Madrid)
No less than 350 participants, 250 in the different federated races and another 100 in the non-competitive popular events, took part this Sunday in the third edition of the Cofidis Academies Race of the Alberto Contador Foundation. The last appointment of the calendar of cycling academies of the Community of Madrid returned to be an authentic party of the formative sport with the presence of riders coming from fifteen provinces of Spain, wrapped up by relatives and friends who contributed to give a formidable atmosphere to the circuit of 1,7 kilometers designed in the district of La Teneria of the Madrid locality of Pinto.
Rubén Sánchez (Unión Ciclista Coslada) from Madrid and Sara Ponte (C. D. Unión Virgen del Carmen) from Málaga were the winners in the Infantile category, a race in which eleven laps had to be completed and in which a bunch of 65 riders took the start. A fall without major consequences in the fourth lap forced to neutralize its celebration for a few minutes.
In the Alevín category, with a squad of 69 units in competition, the triumphs corresponded to the Moreno brothers, Carlos and Irene, both from the Unión Ciclista Coslada. In the case of Irene Moreno, this year’s is her third consecutive victory in this race after his triumphs as a beginner in 2017 and already as alevín last year. His brother also triumphed in 2017 as a beginner.
In the Beginners category the victories corresponded to the Asturian Iker Ibáñez (Team Bike Cabranes) and the Galician Carmen Cabot (Club Ciclista Padronés), who beat Rocío Martín (Club Ciclista Dos Hermanas), current champion of Andalusia in her category. For the Madrid Gonzalo Vaquero (Unión Ciclista Fuenlabrada) and Noelia Encinar (Unión Ciclista Coslada) were the victories in the race for Promises. The Coslada Cycling Union revalidated its triumph by cycling academies.
The morning began, however, with the three races of popular character in which one could participate with mountain bike or road bike, indistinctly, and the federative license was not necessary. The happy faces of the little ones crossing the finish line come to pay for all the organizational work that has lasted for months. “It is, without a doubt, the most authentic cycling, the most beautiful. And it is also our goal: to promote cycling, its practice, regardless of whether or not we compete. We are very satisfied to have such a varied participation and with so much presence from outside Madrid, little by little we are achieving to be an annual appointment of reference”, values Félix García Casas, one of the promoters of the race inside the Foundation.
Adelfo Fernández, Sponsorship manager of Cofidis: “At Cofidis we have been supporting the world of cycling for many years and we are very clear that this collaboration must be comprehensive and reach all levels, including of course basic cycling. In this sense, we are fully convinced of the formative work that cycling has among the youngest, as has been demonstrating for some years the LA Vuelta Junior Cofidis which also collaborates with the Alberto Contador Foundation. Our support for the Academies Race promoted by the Foundation is a logical and coherent step with this idea. It has been wonderful to be able to enjoy a cycling morning like the one we have experienced this Sunday in Pinto, with all those girls and boys enjoying their passion and all the atmosphere generated by family, friends and curious people. It has been a great cycling party”.
Alberto Contador, as in previous editions, was one of those in charge of delivering the trophies. Before initiating the ceremony he wanted to have a detail with Manuel Aboal, a young rider of the Club Ciclista Compostelano that could not take part in the race Alevin by a last minute problem. “It makes me very happy to see that people have come from up to fifteen provinces to take part in our race schools, especially because I am aware of the effort that this requires,” says Contador. “I know that all of you parents here make great sacrifices to support your children. It is an important economic effort. But in the end cycling is much more than sport and it is also giving kids a set of values that I think are very valuable for everyday life in these times of tablets, video games and conformismos. The companionship, the overcoming, the sacrifice… are very valuable values”.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
