2024-09-12 20:45:58
Sanjuanino Jorge Chica, the new president of the Cycling Union of the Argentine Republic (UCRA), and Juan Curuchet – Olympic champion in Beijing 2008 together with Walter Pérez in the Madison race –, advanced the idea of taking advantage of the gold that José “El Maligno” Torres Gil won in the BMX Freestyle event at the recent Paris Olympic Games to promote each of the disciplines “and bring the passion of this sport to all corners of the country.”
“The idea is to organize Urban Fest to be able to bring the passion of this sport to all corners of the country. and so that the kids can meet Maligno Torres. However, We are not going to stay only in BMX, but the idea is to organize events of all disciplines to promote the sport”Chica explained in dialogue with Page/12.
“El Maligno” Torres, born in Bolivia and living in Córdoba since he was eleven years old, He won the gold medal with a score of 94.82, which marked a record in the history of BMX freestyle.The silver medal was won by Britain’s Kieran Reilly – world champion – with 93.91 and the bronze medal was won by France’s Anthony Jeanjean with 93.76.
Torres also won the second gold medal in national cycling after the one won by Juan Curuchet and Walter Pérez in the Madison event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
-What plans does the Ucra have to capitalize on the gold of the Devil in the country?
Jorge Chica: – The idea is to organize an Urban Fest to bring the passion of this sport to all corners of the country and so that kids can meet Maligno Torres. However, we are not going to stick to BMX alone, but the idea is to organize events in all disciplines to promote the sport.
Juan Curuchet: – I think that you can always capitalise on it and there is also the personal will that José may have, as happened to me when I won the Olympic medal. The medal was part of a transformation and served to build Enard when I saw that the medal had surpassed cycling. He can do a lot for sport in general.
-Does the Ucra have a series of presentations by Maligno Torres scheduled to further promote his specialty?
Jorge Chica: – Tomorrow, Friday, September 13, we will hold a presentation on the planning of the three federations that are part of the UCRA (track and road cycling (FACPyR), Mountain Bike (FACIMO) and BMX (FAB). There we will announce a series of very important activities that have to do with the development of all disciplines and especially BMX. The objective is to create a campus where all disciplines can be located and where there is an area for the development of BMX, traditional cycling and mountain biking.
Juan Curuchet: – The Federation is going to organize events. They can be mixed organizations. At road race starts or at cycling sporting events like the San Juan Velodrome, which is covered. We are going to make presentations of BMX Freestyle so that it is better known and there are more and more kids who want to practice it. The important thing is to have a great platform so that many more emerge and we don’t just settle for one result.
-Will you meet with governors or mayors of the country to request the construction of more tracks of these characteristics to promote this test?
Jorge Chica: – A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit San Luis, Santiago del Estero, Córdoba, Catamarca and San Juan where I met with the provincial authorities to move forward with the negotiations. The first step we want to take is to strengthen the base of the sport so that more and more children can see themselves in cycling and can develop. After that, continue climbing this sports pyramid until reaching high performance and dreaming of an Olympic Games.
Juan Curuchet: – Yes, of course. Governors, mayors and also legislators have the strength or resources that can help the sport to spread. We have already traveled throughout the country and talked about the topic of sporting events and combining them with the presentation of the Maligno in each of the races.
-Are you planning to organize clinics around the country to take advantage of the gold shockwave in Paris?
Jorge Chica: – Yes. For us, training of managers, technicians and athletes is very important. It is essential to provide them with different tools to be able to progress in sport.
Juan Curuchet: – Of course we need to do teaching. We need to do clinics for sports organizers, for cyclists, for anti-doping; for sports commissioners and for coaches. We need to do teaching in Argentina and it means using the tools that the Olympic Committees and the International Federations have – through Olympic solidarity – so that they can have all the specialists in the different areas. In general, we need to train all sports leaders.
-Do you have or will you organize a group of talent hunters throughout the country to continue the sequence that the Evil One began?
Jorge Chica: – We don’t have talent scouts or recruiters. We see the bicycle as a means of transport for people who use it for work or children who go to school. The objective of holding the events is to generate greater visibility for children who are just starting out in the sport and to give them the opportunity to compete in the eyes of technicians who, thanks to a training program that we are going to develop, will be able to improve in areas such as health.
Juan Curuchet: – Jorge is reorganizing the Ucra and the results will soon be seen.
-What future do you see for Torres?
Jorge Chica: – El Maligno is an exceptional athlete and even more so as a human being. He is a boy with a great future, but also with a great present. He has been obtaining good results for several years in the youth Olympics, Pan American Games and other BMX events worldwide. However, Paris allowed him to reach the entire country and even be congratulated by Lionel Messi. As president of the UCRA, I have the obligation to help El Maligno continue on this path without forgetting all the thousands of cyclists who are part of the institution.
Juan Curuchet: – He is a genius. It is one thing to be surprised by the Olympic medal and another for those of us who follow him or know him: he is the champion of the Odesur Games; the champion of the Pan American Games and the Olympic champion. Perfect path. Apart from having a cycling school and being invited to all the best tournaments in the world and always being among the top ten. He is a boy who has no limits. Now, a lot depends on him. There are many things that the media has to let go of a little bit, what is happening now and start training again, new preparations and ways of training because the sport evolves every year, not like before, which was every decade. And he is prepared for that and he has to do it.