David García is the man for the classics of the Spanish Xacobeo Galicia team. While Spanish and Classics is not the perfect spring mix, García is ready to tackle the difficult northern races for the first time in his career. He will start out with a lighter program, taking some of the smaller courses in the Netherlands and Belgium. The Eneco Ronde van het Groene Hart on Sunday is the first one.
“From the three races, this is the one I know the least about,” García said. “I didn’t even manage to get a race profile, but since we are talking Holland, I assume it is all flat. I think the difficulty will be something else: a lot of small farm roads and the wind.” García did as much preparation as he could. “I checked out the weather forecast and it looks like we will also get some rain.”
The other races, Dwars door Vlaanderen and the E3 Prijs, are better known to the Spaniard. “I was able to study the percentages of the hills and I also saw some videos. These races principally suit me, but on the other hand, they are also an unknown to me.”
García is aware that his team plays the underdog role. “Our rivals start with a certain advantage over us. But we could have beginner’s luck.”
Low pressure on wider tires
He hasn’t raced them yet, but he has certainly heard about the northern classics. “These are special races. You use wheels that better absorb the vibrations and wider tubulars than usual. Generally, we use 21’s with around 10 bar [145 PSI -ed.] and here we use 23’s or 25’s with eight bar [116 PSI].”
In theory, García feels the races should suit him. “But I am lacking experience, which is also important. Regardless, I will be motivated.” Initially he planned to stay south and do the Vuelta a Cataluña. “There are more days of racing and it could have been good to prepare me for the races in April, which is ‘my’ month.”
But García has adapted to the new schedule. “There are three races and all are over 200km long, which can help me physically. They are also just a good experience to have.”
García’s list of wins include a stage in the 2008 Vuelta a España as well as the Tour of Turkey overall in 2008. He also won the Vuelta a la Rioja in 2009.