An interview with Juan Esteban Curuchet, June 7, 2004
It took 20 years for Juan Curuchet to become world champion. And after their performances this year, he and his Madison partner Walter Perez now have a real chance at taking Olympic gold. Cyclingnews' Hernan Alvarez Macias spoke with Curuchet about his win in Melbourne, the prospect of Olympic gold and more.
JC: We are feeling very positive after a good year and that gives us much strength because, as you can imagine, the same riders who did well at the World's are going to do well in Greece. We are very excited about competing in the Olympics, we have many expectations. I think we are going to perform very well in the Games.
JC: We're aiming for the gold medal, that's for sure. We have a good chance because we are the world champions and there is a reason for that, so we are aiming to win. The strategy is to win, not just for a result. At this time of our sporting career, we should give it our all.
JC: I never lost hope. I think that I if kept riding - currently I am 39 years old - it was because I had the hope of winning. I think the key was to keep on believing in myself and also my perseverance. Always do things with passion, that's the way to get results.
JC: Spectacular! It's incredible, incredible. I loved Melbourne, much more than Sydney. The reason is that I was in Melbourne's downtown and in Sydney's suburbs. I didn't see Sydney's nice places. I saw Melbourne as a spectacular city, great for tourism, so developed, very well organized.
JC: It will be impossible to overcome road cycling. Track cycling is promoted by television, by the world championships and by the competitions held in Europe. In Europe, people watch track cycling much more than in other places, especially in Germany. The UCI is working on that, and in my opinion, more competitions should be organized. There should be shorter competitions in order to attract more people and to attract television too. TV doesn't like a race that lasts four hours - TV wants fast races and plenty of emotion.
JC: Yes, we get along very well. I share more time with him than with my own family. So, if you don't get along well, the relationship would be very difficult.
JC: There are many different sensations. I was very young when I went to my first Games; I was only 18 years old [in the '84 Olympics in Los Angeles]. It was all new to me. As I took part in another four Olympics, I treated things differently each time. I consider the Olympic Games are the greatest event in sport and it is the biggest competition for every athlete.
JC: It's difficult to say; we have to wait until the end of the Olympic Games. After Athens, there will new blood on the tracks and then we will see new riders. The cyclists who go to Greece have been competing in the top races for four years, others for eight years. You know what? A rider's performance is not measured by a single competition. When a rider shines in two, three big tournaments, then we will say, "This man is a cycling phenomenon." I don't consider a remarkable rider as the one who succeeds in just one competition and then fails the next year. In my opinion, a cycling phenomenon is someone like the Frenchman [Arnuad] Tournant; he was a guy who became eleven times world champion. But when a rider is 18, 19 years old, he could be a phenomenon, but nobody knows.
JC: I don't know really. I'm going ride in Athens and then I have a commitment to ride in the 2005 World Championships and in the Pan-American Games. After that, I will see what I will do.
JC: Today I don't know, but I would like to teach all the things that I learned in my sporting career. It will depend on the offers that I get. I'm an amateur; if I don't get a good job two or three years after I quit, I won't be able to take advantage of my experience. It will depend on the offers; if not, I will continue with my own business.
