Sergio Garrote: “This is the reward for work, sacrifice, effort”

Sergio Garrote reach to Games in Paris with one goal in mind: win gold in the time trial. So, after dominating Wednesday’s final with total authority, his expression said it all.

“The feeling is unbelievable. I feel very good right now. It is wonderful. This is the reward for work, sacrifice, effort“, he said with emotion. “I have been concentrating since April with my family, with my wife, with my dog. I trained every day trained under a hellish sun, under snow, under rain, at altitude, at sea level...”, he pointed out how hard he fought to get the medal.

Sergio Garrote has competed in three events throughout his Paralympic Games career, two in Tokyo and one in Paris. His balance is two gold and one bronze. ““We gave everything to get here and retain the title of Olympic champion in the time trial in front of the fans.”said Garrote, who thanked the Spanish fans for their support. “We know Jouanny will be a very tough rival and Luca is clearly a standard bearer in his country and one of the greatest figures in Italian sport,” he said of his rivals.

This left them very far behind their times. “I did not expect that superiority to be so great. We no longer have references from kilometer 5 and beyond what we can also intuit on a visual level,” he said about how he experienced the test. “Félix had already warned me. I have Luca in my visual space, but not Florian. All you can do is keep pedaling to the end like a lion looking for its prey,” he said of his mentality.

This gold is the culmination of an absolute plethora of cycles for him. “We revalidated the title of Olympic champion and we achieved the last two World Championships titles, World Cups and European Championships”was celebrating. “The rivalry with Luca has been growing from hundredths to a second, to two seconds… Now it’s at 45. I didn’t expect it,” he said.

Finally, Garrote also spoke about the circuit. “The two climbs are not difficult. I saw the circuit in May and I know what awaits me. With my coaches we always talk that you have to train above the level where you can compete,” he explained about his mentality. It paid off when he crossed the finish line as the winner. “It has been a very sweet, incredible moment. I have enjoyed it a lot. I have seen many Spanish, people cheering me on… Hearing ‘come on, Garrote’ when your strength is gone… All gone, you keep building your courage.“, he closed, thanking the fans.