Héctor García

Second season for Héctor in a U19 squad of the Contador Foundation where last year he shared pedalling and colours with his older brother Pedro. The beginning of the idyll with cycling of the García Tomás brothers has the same source: Antonio, their father, was interested in buying a motorbike and visited several shops, but in one of them they also sold bikes and his two offspring left with two brand new mounts. “We used to go out together a lot, we liked it more than anything else and when my brother said he wanted to compete I also took up the idea some time later, when I was twelve years old”, says Héctor. In the García Tomás household, cycling was by no means an unknown sport. Both grandfathers, both Pedro, and also his father Antonio, had practised some discipline and at home there was a certain fondness for it, something that his mother also shares. “When you see your brother there, having a great time, it’s an incentive to cheer up and give it a try. And then you discover that cycling is a different sport, very beautiful, that day after day encourages you to keep going forward and to compete”. Within the universal calendar, the races that the youngest of the García Tomás family enjoys the most are the classics: “I watch everything, I like to watch old races on Youtube, but I’m very interested in the classics and the one-day races. Personally I see myself more as a sprinter than a climber, but I still have a lot to define myself and I think I have a lot of potential for time trials. I don’t have a favourite cyclist at the moment, but I’ve seen a lot of Miguel Indurain and I’d like to remember his performance in the famous Luxembourg time trial in the 1992 Tour”. The youngest of the García Tomás family was also asked about the current state of U19 cycling: “There are riders who are prodigies, unique, like Alejandro Valverde, but not all of them are like that. Without a doubt, a couple of years in the U23 category can’t do you any harm”. Héctor, currently studying an intermediate degree in organic farming, and his brother Pedro share many training sessions when schedules allow. The phenomenon of cycling brothers connects with the very history of the sport, which is rich in family sagas and blood ties: “It’s a mutual support, everything is much more pleasant and for many logistical matters it’s great because it makes things easier”.