Samuel Garcia Retamar

Samuel is a normal man with a job and a family, who takes all the time he can to do what he loves the most, cycling.

Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? What's your job?

I am from Cáceres, Extremadura. Lover of my land.
I work in a national company, dedicated to security systems.

How do you combine work and sport?

Well, I work away from home, and in order to get hours of training I try to sacrifice myself and not my family, going out at unusual hours, or very early (especially in summer, almost dawn), or just leaving the children in school, or just eaten, so I almost always train alone. I also have the support and support of my wife, without her, it would not be possible to carry out and be able to practice this sport that I am so passionate about.

How many hours/week do you dedicate to sport?

Well, I usually train about 6 days a week, with a total of around 10-12 hours.

What was your first test?

Well, I don't remember the first test itself, I started riding a bicycle thanks to my father, who signed up for the cycling club of the social club of the company where I worked, the great Catelsa Cáceres Cycling Club.
As I already said, it was where I began my journey in this world, at about 12 years old, I was the youngest of the club. In the first routes, I remember that I suffered a lot, but feeling very supported by the other members, who waited for me and encouraged me.
With the passage of time I was gaining form and experience and I began to get the bug for the competition or participation in more tests or races. I don't know if it will be the first, but one of the first that I remember was in Monte Hermoso (Cáceres), La Ruta de la Prehistoria, where there was a big mud.

2013
- II JARAICEJO BTT MARATHON — 5th Senior.
- II MARATHON V PREHISTORY ROUTE, MONTEHERMOSO — 4th Senior
- II VALDEFUENTES BTT MARATHON — 4th Senior.
- TRUJILLO CITY BTT MARATHON — 5th Senior.
- TRUJILLO FOUR SQUARE — 5th Senior.

2015
- GRAND FUND NOR3XTREM — 6th Elite.
- MADRIDXTREM HEROICA (MTB MARATHON + GRAND FUND ROAD) —Finisher.
- SPANISH OPEN XCO MARATHON TITAN VILLUERCAS — Finisher.
- MEDITERRANEAN XTREM (XTREM BIKER, 3 STAGES) — 13th Elite — Classification in pairs 14th.

2016
- SKODATITÁN XTREM TOUR, GENERAL CLASSIFICATION COUPLE ULTRAMARATHON — 3º
- TITAN TAJO INTERNATIONAL ULTRAMARATHON — 4th
- PIMIENTON DE LA VERA PDO TITAN ULTRAMARATHON — 3rd (Partnering with Vicente Fernández).
- TITAN VILLUERCAS UCI WORLD MARATHON SERIES - SPANISH OPEN
XCM—Finisher
- HUELVA EXTREME BTT — Finisher
- ALGARVE BIKE CHALLENGE UCI — Finisher

2017
- EPIC PORTALEGRE - PORTUGAL — Finisher
- COMPRESSPORT SÂO MAMEDE GRANFONDO PORTALEGRE - PORTUGAL —Finisher
- TITAN VILLUERCAS UCI WORLD MARATHON SERIES - LOGROSÁN — Finisher
- 4 WOLVES AND 3000 VULTURES (SERRADILLA) — 3rd Master 30.
- TAÇA DE PORTUGAL XCM 2nd PROVA BTT MARATHON CASTELO DE VIDE E
MAVÃO — Finisher
- POWERADE RACE LION — Finisher
- BEARED CRUBS — Finisher, GOLD

2018
- ALGARVE BIKE CHALLENGE OPEN RACE — Finisher
- IX CAPITANA (JAVI CABEZA), SPANISH OPEN BTT XCM, GUADALCANAL, SEVILLE. —Finisher
- GRAND FUND LISBON (PORTUGAL) — Finisher
- FINDBIKE OLIVENZA — Climbing Time Trial, 9th in pairs | Marathon, 5th in pairs | 5th General Classification
- THE 10,000 OF THE SOPLAO — Finisher, GOLD
- SAO MAMEDE GRAN FONDO, MARVAO — Finisher

2019
- I RIBEROS DEL ALMONTE MARATHON — 6th Master 30
- DELIGHTFUL MARATHON — 5th Master 30.
- VALDEHORNOS RACE — 5th Master 30.
- GATA MARATHON — 4th Master 30
- EXTREMADURA BTT CIRCUIT — 1st Master 30
- MADRID LISBOA NON STOP 2019 — 3rd For trios ambassador category

What test has been the hardest? Why?.

On the way to Gredos, proof that it linked Madrid with the town of Barco de Ávila.
More than 200km of pure mountain biking, without marking, through tracking by track or gps. A poorly prepared Track that drove the participants crazy, that together with other aspects, such as poor organization in general terms, made it the toughest test I've ever done and the one that left me the most mentally affected. If you want to know more about my experience you can read the chronicle of it in the following link:
asphalt and sand

What mental tool do you use for critical moments?

Think of my family, in the time that I am not with them and I use to train.
Simply for that reason, because of the time of sacrifice and that I lose from being with them, I feel obliged to push at critical moments and not fade away.

Do you have or have you had an injury due to sports?

Yes, about 8 years ago I was injured for almost a year because of the IT band. Almost a year without doing practically any type of physical activity.
I went through a lot of doctors, physios, osteopaths, podiatrists... I was so desperate that if someone told me about something that worked, I would try it; until finally, just as it came to me, it left me, not reappearing for the moment, and I hope it continues like this.

Let's talk about food. Do you follow any diet during the preparations? Out of them?

Diet as such, no, although I do take great care of myself, and I like to eat very healthy and as natural as possible, if it is true that when a goal is approached, the diet changes something else by focusing it on it.

Why cycling and not another sport? What attracted you to cycling?

Well, the truth is that since I was little I have practiced many sports. Basketball, soccer (which I don't like at all, and I'm terrible), tennis, volleyball, paddle tennis, handball... Until I discovered this great sport.
Why this and not another, because I think that one of the main reasons, like running or swimming, for example, is because you can practice it alone, in addition to the freedom you feel practicing it, the places you know (which you probably wouldn't know of not be for him), the fellowship, the world around him….

Do you like the RRSS?

Yes, and I also consider myself very active in them. I think it's a tool available to everyone, and depending on what you're looking for, you can get a lot of use out of it.

How would you define yourself?

Restless, I am continually looking at possible tests or challenges to add to my calendar. Nice, although at first I can give the impression of being serious. Natural, close. Lover of my land and its people.
Stubborn and persevering, when something gets between my eyebrows….

How do you see yourself in the following months/years?

In the medium or short term I have the Transpyr, proof that it has a date in June, and to which I have signed up since 2019, but that 2020 could not be celebrated due to Covid, and that this 2021 I have my doubts that it can be celebrated.
And in the long term, right now I don't know. With the current situation, I prefer to think in the short or medium term, but in the future I would like to make the Hero Sellaronda.

What sports goals do you have in the medium term (6-18 months)? And in the long term?

If I could I would like to put myself to the test and try to do some non stop test. For the rest, I will continue doing tests in the northern zone as I always do, every year we try something new, but at the moment it is complicated.

If you had to give a single advice to anyone who has been cycling for a short time. What would?

Start by setting challenges or objectives, soft, affordable, that although they cost you, they do not mean that you end up hating this sport, and progressively increase said hardness.

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