Perico Delgado and the great problem of modern 'robotized' cycling: "In sport, failures also generate passion in the fans"

In statements to the colleagues of El Debate collected by Diario del Triatlón, Perico Delgado has spoken of the new cycling, very different from the mythical Spanish cyclist lived in the eighties and nineties. He believes that for a while the epic was lost because of the 'robotization' of cyclists, but that in recent years that epic has returned with the latest generation.

"In a cycling where technology rules, with the training sessions, the earpiece, the doctor controlling the values, the nutritionist, measuring the efforts through watts... The rider has become highly robotized," Delgado said. "All these parameters have caused that cycling has been very retained and this new generation has recovered part of that epic after a few years in which technology marked the effort of the last half hour. There is a reconciliation with those of us who became cyclists because of the exploits of others and they have recovered a cycling that I thought would never be seen again".

Delgado believes that 'watt cycling' would have prevented many of the crashes of his era, crashes that seem to have disappeared lately. He believes that failure is part of the spectacle and that technology cannot completely dominate the sport, as it causes it to lose much of its epoch. In this regard, he refers to Albero Contador:

"Well, yes, it would have saved me a lot of birds because the watts make you work at a certain level. I've never been against watts, but others like Alberto Contador are, because it limits the effort a lot. You have to look at everything as a whole and in its time. I think it's very difficult to fight against technology, but you have to create a regulation that doesn't lose that epic or fun cycling. These elements sometimes detract from the spontaneity of the cyclist, the birds.... Sometimes the 'pericadas', like what happened to me in Luxembourg, are remembered more than the victory itself in a race. In sport, failures and mistakes also generate passion in the fans".