This year four seasons of work have been fulfilled at the Éboli Plaza Cycling School, launched by the Alberto Contador Foundation to offer the smallest cyclists in the South of Madrid the right place to become familiar with cycling and enjoy the sport.
Its responsible, the former professional Félix García Casas, is proud of what has been achieved during these years in which every Tuesday and Thursday, from 17:30 to 19:30 hours, every month, except August, the small cyclists of The Éboli Plaza School have been growing to the rhythm of their pedals.
“We started with 8 or 10 children and now we have 32, of which the vast majority do not miss a workout. There is no other school of these dimensions in the South of Madrid and we are already the second of all the Community, only behind the one of San Sebastián de los Reyes”, explains.
After four years, there are already some guys who are running in the cadets category in the teams of Fuenlabrada and Valdemoro (Pedal Stroke Team). Even one of them, Mario Diaz, went last year to the Campus of Selection of the Junior team of the Contador Foundation and now runs in Bicicletas Salchi Team. Every day there is less to see run in the higher categories to the students of the School, although Garcia Casas says that his objective is not to be only a nursery of cyclists, but something more. “Of course we support the boys who want to compete, but our goal is broader, it is the promotion of cycling, sport and recreational use of cycling among boys and girls”.
But it is also true that the competitive spirit of the students has led them to be present in school competitions from the beginning. “From April to October we run on the road, and on mountain bike the rest of the year, except August, when we stopped for vacations. For me the important thing is to see that next Sunday, for instance, we will go to the race of San Fernando de Henares with 22 children of the School, which is already quite a high number “.
Félix García Casas also highlights the work of his collaborators, Álvaro García and Fernando Agudo, “the monitors responsible for attending the calls every weekend and also to supervise the bicycle sessions every day”. A sample of how the Plaza Éboli School is working is the preselection of four of its members, three boys and one girl, for the Spanish School Championships. “They are boys from 13 to 14 years old, Miguel Angel Molina, Ricardo Ferrando, Jorge Montero and Laura Caballero. They still have to win the place to run next 8 and 9 July in Avila, but being in this pre-selection is already a satisfaction for all of us”.
