You are missing from the Tour

BarcelonaThe first pedal stroke is about to arrive for the only two Catalan cyclists in this year's Tour de France. Their team, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, is one of the invited teams to the French race. "For now, we don't have time for nerves between photos, interviews, and everything else we're doing. We're going full throttle," explains Joel Nicolau to ARA before the team presentation next to Sant Pau Hospital. The dream has come true.

In addition to the official photos for the Tour, fans who have come to see the cyclists at the bus parking lot also ask for photos to immortalize the memory. "The luck of being able to start from Barcelona is invaluable," adds Balderstone, who has received a visit from his family on such a special day. The Tour de France has nothing to do with any other cycling race on the planet. Everything is faster here, there are more nerves in the peloton, racing is different, there's more pressure, more media, the public cheers more than in any other cycling race, and the passage of days weighs heavily, very heavily. They have already warned the novice cyclists, who experience it differently, to prepare themselves, to measure their strength well, and that if they push too hard, "we might not reach Paris".

At the team's training camp at the beginning of the year, the murmur had already begun that there was "a real possibility of being able to race the Tour; in the end, it became completely real, and here we are," recalls Joel. When it was officially announced, Abel Balderstone was on the bus before starting to compete in one of the stages of the Challenge de Mallorca, and when they saw it published on Instagram, they celebrated on the bus. "It's an honor to represent the team. I feel fortunate because many riders deserved it."

Until last weekend, there were 10 cyclists pre-selected for the Grande Boucle, and it was on Sunday that they learned the final eight. Joel Nicolau was returning from the Spanish Championship in Sabiñánigo, where he finished second behind fellow Catalan Marcel Camprubí, who is the new Spanish road champion. Nicolau was traveling by car with his wife and his two-and-a-half-month-old son, and when he found out, he felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. "I looked at my wife and it was a very nice moment, because this year, at the beginning of the season, things weren't going well for me. The pregnancy also got complicated and it was chaotic. To come back, achieve results, and be the Spanish runner-up has involved very rewarding days, because after the storm, calm has arrived."

An unforgettable absence

For the Tour of the Grand Départ in Barcelona, one cyclist is missing: Jaume Guardeño. In addition to Abel and Joel, he was supposed to be another of the cyclists chosen by Caja Rural for the race. Jaume Guardeño, a resident of Caldes de Montbui and born in Altea, suffered a serious accident after the Tour of Catalonia while training in Sant Quirze del Vallès. The young 23-year-old cyclist swerved into the opposite lane due to a stone and hit his head on a car. He was in a coma for 50 days and suffers from severe neurological injuries. For several weeks, he has been admitted to the Guttmann Institute. Guardeño had completed a brilliant Tour of Catalonia with a third place as the best young rider in the general classification, and last year he finished La Vuelta in 14th position. "Lots of strength. Both I and the team can only wish that he fights like he did in La Vuelta, where he gave his all, and that he can move forward," explains Joel.

Different members of the team went to the Guttmann Institute on Wednesday to see Jaume Guardeño. "We went to give strength to the family at the hospital," Abel recalls with emotion. Jaume Guardeño brought friendship and companionship to the team. He is a person "very calm and patient," comments Joel. "He is very cheerful and positive. He had a lot of ambition - adds Balderstone -. For me, he was a very important piece last year, because we made a good tandem. Together we motivated each other to achieve a good general classification in La Vuelta." And so Jaume Guardeño was 14th and Abel Balderstone was 13th. He is missing from the Tour of Barcelona, Jaume is missing.