"I came from eating the world and went down to hell" - Pedro Delgado runs through 1989 Tour de France disaster

Perico Delgado continues his presentation tour of his book 'La soledad de Perico' and visited the microphones of Juanma Castaño's 'El Partidazo de Cope'. The 1988 Tour de France winner told new anecdotes that are recounted in the book written about his experiences by journalist Ainara Hernando.

"This book is more about my sporting side as a professional cyclist. I wanted to tell how I faced great moments and the management of my emotions. It was missing something more personal and intimate," he explained. "I've always said that cycling is a solitary sport. You have to manage all your efforts, the race... in the key moments you are you", hence the name of the book, 'La soledad de Perico' (Perico's solitude).

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One of the most interesting chapters talks about the famous Luxembourg time trial of the 1989 Tour de France. Perico, as winner of the previous Tour, started last, but arrived almost 3 minutes late at the start, something that condemned him and prevented him from winning (although he finished third behind Lemond and Fignon).

"You had a circuit for warm-up before the start. I arrived at the start, a photo, an autograph... I came from eating the world and went down to hell," he commented on his late arrival at the start line.

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Perico comments on the differences between the cycling he rode and today's cycling and talks about his idols past and present.

"It was a different cycling. We raced and you felt beaten. Today, riders go out thinking about so many tools and don't find that the mistake is theirs. Bernad Hinault was the one I liked the most because he showed epic cycling. I love that cycling. It's like now with Pogacar. Now we have a generation that does very aggressive cycling. That gives a fresh air that's a lot of fun.

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Relationship with Induráin

About his relationship with Miguel Induráin, he says it was fantastic, especially because the change of leadership in the team freed him up and he always got along very well with the Navarrese:

"He helped me because I accumulated a lot of tension in a very strange year. I didn't respond. From '88 to '94 we were together. Miguel has a very distant appearance but within the team he is a pleasure to work with. There was a very strong team feeling. It served as a release for what I had done. Miguel Induráin and I always had a very good relationship. He was always killing himself to help me.

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Problem with García

José María García was the leader of Spanish radio in the 1980s and he harshly criticized Perico for not wanting to ride a Tour of Spain. Then, to add more fire to the problem, Delgado became a competitor's cometarista by joining José Ramón de la Morena, which caused a fire that lasted for months:

"Very strange things happen to me. In 1988 we decided to ride the Giro d'Italia instead of La Vuelta. García called me anti-Spanish. De la Morena asked me if I wanted to comment on the stage finishes of La Vuelta and García found out. I told him that I had given my word to José Ramón. From then on it was an all-out war".

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