The family man

By Hernan Alvarez Macias

Carlos Garcia Quesada couldn't have been happier after achieving his first stage win at the Vuelta a España - it was a goal the Spaniard had in mind since the first day. "Today, I thought about the stage win," said the Comunidad Valenciana rider at the post-stage press conference. "The fifth place on the overall classification wasn't much for me. I'm not a person who likes to take chances on a descent. I really am not. I think about my family and I don't like to end at the side of the road just to go a bit faster.

"I consider myself a combative rider and I try to attack every time I can. I wanted to have a nice memory and a nice memory for me is a stage win," the cyclist from Granada added.

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Professional Continental team Comunidad Valenciana is not among the top 20 teams inside the ProTour. Referring to that, Garcia Quesada noted, "We demonstrated this year that we deserve to be there in the top [division], that we are a ProTour team, that we have good riders. We are part of a good team." He also thanked his teammates that struggled a lot in order to see him prevail.

Garcia Quesada wears a religious medal that he kissed when he crossed the line at first place today in La Granja de San Ildefonso, and which has a particular story. "My grandmother gave it to my little son," he said. "It was his, but I took it from him for good luck. My grandmother is very religious, like most elderly Spanish. I actually don't know the medal very well, but it has the image of the Holy Mary. It reminds me of my family."

Garcia Quesada has not renewed his contract with Comunidad Valenciana yet. Today's victory should increase his future salary and bonuses in this team - or in another, as he doesn't know which outfit he will defend in 2006. "I don't have a clear idea about next year. I think that, together with my brother Fito [Adolfo] who also races, we won't have problems to find a team to ride," the 27-year old commented, while leaving the door open for a new contract with his current squad.

"If they [Vicente Belda team] want us [Adolfo and him] and they make a good offer, it will be alright. We would like to stay and race with them," he concluded. Carlos Garcia Quesada has been with team manager Vicente Belda for five years.