He is 46 and still racing with the same impetus as when he won the white jersey on the TdF.
On every violent attack on that tough and blistering hot course, I saw him giving it all, battling against much younger pro riders with dignity. I realized that some people just love cycling and will keep racing even if their best days are over. He is clinging to his last Elite race days, but he will keep racing as an AG rider for a long time I am sure.
Like the 75 year old UCI international commissair I saw meeting death at the velodrome in a violent crash at the Nationals just a few feet away from me last week. He did not need to be there, but as he told a friend a couple of hours before he died, “I think that I am going to die on a race”.
There was a crash at the Junior Nationals in México on the Scratch race. One of the girls got off the track at very high speed and hit him in the chest. The impact threw him violently backwards and his head hit the floor. He died instantly. This was one of the best organized races I have ever seen in a very modern and well built indoor velodrome. He was standing where he should and no one is to blame. It was an unfortunate accident. Some of his friends say that if given a choice he would have probably chosen to die as he did.
He was a very tough commissair but always a gentleman. My son will always remember how he told a friend of my son that was giving him advice, in a very smart way to keep off the restricted area when he was about to get on his bike to race the finals in the Ind. Pursuit race. He had been covering that area all day long and for some reason he changed places only for the last race of the day. Many noticed that and just could not believe how he walked at last moment to that particular spot to meet death. Very unfortunate.
This team, Orsan, showed up for some crits in Houston back in May. The officials decided that since they didn’t have UCI licenses, they couldn’t race with the 1/2s. As a ‘compromise’ they stuck them with the Cat 3s.
As a Cat 1, as a Texan, as a State Champion, and just as a fan of bicycle racing, I am totally ashamed that we stuck Raul Alcala in a Cat III race.
I would have LOVED to have lined up against Raul.
Sergio, if you see him, or any of the Orsan guys, please tell them I’m sorry. Ask them to please come race in TX again.
When are we going to see you and Sergio, Jr., back racing in el norte?
This team, Orsan, showed up for some crits in Houston back in May. The officials decided that since they didn’t have UCI licenses, they couldn’t race with the 1/2s. As a ‘compromise’ they stuck them with the Cat 3s.
As a Cat 1, as a Texan, as a State Champion, and just as a fan of bicycle racing, I am totally ashamed that we stuck Raul Alcala in a Cat III race.
I would have LOVED to have lined up against Raul.
Sergio, if you see Alcalá or any of the Orsan guys, please tell them I’m sorry. Ask them to please come race in TX again.
When are we going to see you and Sergio, Jr., back racing in el norte?
I will pass your kind words to the Orsan riders and Raúl.
Sergio raced today under the Orsan Team on a special permit (it is the team that won with Manuel Serrano that Pro/1/2 race in TX when we met). No one under 18 can race this particular Pro race down here, but Sergio (and his team mate -between Sergio and Raúl in the photo) got a special permit from our Nat. Federation to race as part of the preparation to the 2010 Junior Pan American games. Sergio was confirmed last week as being part of the Junior National Team and you can imagine that he is a happy kid.
I hope that what happened in Houston was a misunderstanding. As you saw when Serrano from Orsan won in San Antonio, there is no sense for them going to TX to race in Cat 3. Maybe they did not have their UCI cards at hand on that race. Anyways, I am sure that the team will race again in TX and that we will meet again. Thanks for the invitation!
