Guillem Herrera Athlete Ambassador
Guillem is a Spanish cyclist who enjoys competing on the beautiful roads of Basque country. He talks to Sundried about the highs and lows of competitive cycling.
Have you always been into sport?
I've always been into sport but not always into cycling. When I was a kid I played a lot of golf and rugby too. Then I tried cycling and fell in love with it.
How did you first get into cycling?
I started cycling because my ex partner's father was a professional cyclist when he was younger and he told me to try it to improve my fitness because at that time I was playing rugby.
What’s been your best race to date?
It's very difficult to choose only one, especially with cycling because we spend the whole year competing all around Spain on beautiful roads. If I had to choose one, it'd be the Volta a la Garrotxa: a two-day race in Girona, north east of Barcelona. However, every race in Girona or Basque Country is beautiful.
And your proudest achievement?
I'm not going to choose a race where I won because in cycling there are more important things to do than winning. My biggest achievement is to be in a solid team with very nice people and be able to help each other when we need it - no matter if we win or not (but of course we try!)
Have you ever had any racing disasters/your toughest race yet?
Unfortunately, yes. In cycling we are very likely to fall off the bike 2-3 times on average, especially in road races and crits. I remember a race where I was one of the favourites to win. In the last 800m, the guy in front of me dropped his chain and made me fall, leaving me out of the sprint and with a burned leg.
How do you overcome setbacks?
Quickly. I love road racing and as soon as I am able to pedal again, I come back.
What advice do you wish you'd been given before you started competing?
Maybe if someone had advised me about the bad side of cycling (crashes, lack of time, poor social life...) I would never have started competing. But I now have a love for cycling, no matter what anyone says about it.
What are your goals for 2019?
I'll focus my season in two parts: Copa de España (the most important one-day race in Spain) from February to May and then I'll prepare the second part from July to September, where I'll race the most important Vueltas (multiple day racing) and copa Criterium (crits) here in Catalonia.
Who do you take your inspiration from?
My main source of inspiration is, for sure, my mum. She's there for me through the good and the bad and she taught me how to be a good person.
What do you like about Sundried and what’s your favourite bit of our kit?
I love the commitment the brand has about making clothes with the smallest possible carbon footprint. I've always been taught about one thing: take care of others and others will take care of you. This can be applied to the planet – we have to take care of it!
I really like the whole Sundried collection, but what I like the most (especially for the hard winter we have this year in Spain) is the padded jacket, the running jacket and the training tights. But I'm really looking forward to try the summer collection too!
