Alfonso Cabello’s different time trial

“It’s a very, very sweet medal. For me it’s a gift to be here”he explained with satisfaction Alfonso Cabello this Friday in the Spanish media present at Games in Paris after his bronze medal. He had just extrapolated to his test, the kilometers against the clock, a constant battle with himself in recent months.

According to experts, continued COVID This is the condition that remains in the body in people who have suffered from the coronavirus for several weeks or months. The virus, far from disappearing after the usual days have passed for its elimination, remains in the body causing new and continuous symptoms of a different nature, which may cause digestive, respiratory or neurological, among others.

This situation occurs in about 10% of patients who have contracted the coronavirus. Cabello is one of them, a new medal in the Games. For this reason, the preparation for Paris, even if it resulted in a medal in style to further his legend (there are already six medals for him in the greatest multi-sports event), has been anything but easy for him.

“A year and a half ago, I didn’t even ride a bike,” Cabello summarizes her starting point. From arriving with doubts he responded in a big way to the moment of truth, with medals at stake. He knew he had to empty himself in the first part of the test to see how his body responded to the last part: he did it in a big way. “It was difficult for me at the beginning because I knew that in the end it would cost me more. I was looking for my own reference,” he summarized for the Spanish press.

The kilometer time trial in the velodrome requires maximum concentration and maintaining a pedaling cadence for just over a minute, but with almost no rest. “It was difficult for me at the beginning because I know it will cost me more in the end. “I was looking for my own reference,” said Cabello In fact, the finale cost him a little, but he responded perfectly to get the medal time.

Work and full faith to fight the difficulties

Paralympic champion in London 2012 at nineteen years old, four cycles later and at thirty years old Cabello already has two Olympic golds and two bronzes in a modality as demanding as it is explosive. “My coach said he’d rather do a stage of the Tour de France than a track time trial. Every competitor has different conditions and it’s a test that also depends on courage,” he summed up the toughness of his modality.

The toughness of purpose she was looking for along with her physical problems caused Cabello to doubt. Many, especially in their difficult months. “I doubted if I could ever be a professional athlete again. I had hard timesa lot of doubts about what will happen in the sport, to me,” he reflected. “I doubted if I could continue dedicating myself to what I wanted. Being here and having the medal hanging around my neck is very good for me,” he celebrated.

To be honest. In the midst of difficulties, Cabello chose to be brave enough to arrive in Paris at full capacity. “Preparation is different, against the clock,” he said smiling. “I tried to take things in stride because it wasn’t a complete cycle that I faced, but one year less because of the pandemic. Also, I lost another year with COVID,” he explained about the three years in between Tokyo and Paris, reduced by two for him due to his physical condition.

But all situations provide learning that can be very useful at the most desired moment. “I have taken things very calmly. The first World Cup in which I competed in this cycle I was fourth. I had not been fourth since 2011,” he says about the difficulty of the new reality that he has experienced in recent months. “Since then he has not stepped off the podium and is difficult to manage. But “The learnings are positive and thanks to that I have come out stronger to fight here.”he summed up.

Cabello was able to become stronger mentally because of the problems it suffered. Because he never lost faith that he would fight again. “They still call me a boy but I’m thirty years old. I was a Paralympic champion when I was seventeen and since then I have added skills and experience, but I still stay young,” he summarizes. Ambition never changes. “I hope we are in Los Angeles and we can climb to the top,” he explained.

Before that, another stop awaits in Paris: the speed of the team with Ricardo Ten and Pablo Jaramillo. “I’m convinced of the team’s possibilities because Ricardo came very strong and Pablo did all the preparations very well. I hope things work out because I’m going for more,” he warned. He is counting down the hours until he hits the track again this Sunday in his second test in Paris. And he made it clear a long time ago: he is an expert at winning the toughest time trials.