Jordi Buch: limited body, infinite passion

Jordi Buch is a cyclist who suffers from pseudoachondroplasia. Many people will wonder what this is about. Considering that his passion is cycling, few would associate it with growth problems and more than seeing the classification of the queen stage (121km) of the Titan Desert Saudi Arabia, where he finished th -24. If that is so, At 39 years old, she measures 146cm and weighs around 47kg.. His disease has side effects such as bowed legs, scoliosis or early osteoarthritis in addition to a clear growth limitation. Despite all this, he succeeded in trial after trial. Hallucinating about his experiences is common and talking to him makes the reasons clear. But how does his story begin?

“My beginnings in cycling were based on an activity that you started doing with your father at the weekend and one day they suddenly informed you that there was a race in town and you signed up to see how it was goes. From there you look for new goals and as you grow, you find that you have new limits in impact sports such as soccer or tennis and I found in cycling a sport that could bring out everything in me”

But for a sport like cycling to go from being a spontaneous activity to something important in your daily life means constantly challenging yourself. And Jordi’s desire for challenges seems insatiable. His continued involvement in the Titan Desert is the best example. And soon we will see him in his most extreme challenge, the Cape Epic.

“I have to be honest because in the beginning the Titan was not an option for me because pressing the pedal in the desert was not something that motivated me but I met people who were very addicted to it and I tried it. A few years ago I won a scholarship to give visibility to growth pathologies and I had the opportunity to make my debut. I found a good channel to pay attention to the cause. In addition, the results is coming out.”

Adaptation to the bike

“You’re trying to find commercial material that best suits my height.” That’s why Jordi always has bikes specially designed for women. “It’s not strictly adapted but I’m making some changes.” Note that handlebars are narrower, for example. “I started with 27-inch bikes and then 29-inch bikes. I usually use XS bikes, models designed for women.“Once everything is in place, he’s ready to make the most of every element.

The visibility of your case

Another factor to consider is the cost that Jordi’s passion for cycling takes. The Catalan says that people think that because of his condition and the fact of giving him the ability to see it does not represent a cost and nothing could be further from the truth: “Everything comes out of my pocket and we also need to put an economic brake on it.”

Despite an obvious physical disadvantage, Jordi’s results speak for themselves. Without further ado, in the first stage of this year he finished in 38th position and in the general classification of 2022 he finished at the gates of the Top50. But Jordi does not consider himself a reference: “I think it’s like everything else, you don’t have to idealize anyone. Everyone has to set their own levels. You have to know where each person’s limits are and not end up being a jerk. The truth is that the Titan suits me better because I’m better on the climbs than the flats.”

Jordi is committed to being an example to follow for the sake of improvement. But to pay attention to the cause, external help is needed in many cases and Jordi’s is no exception. He misses more business support although he does not forget to thank the people dedicated to his growth in sports, such as the training center where he will go to the Premià de Mar or the sports brand that provides him with material for in events like this week in Arabia. If he is given the means he will obviously do the rest.