Being a professional cyclist is the objective for which Lorenzo Heredia has left the routes of the region to go and ride in Europe, more precisely in Belgium, the cradle of the discipline on two wheels.
Less than a month ago, with her young 17 years in tow, Lolo left for Europe to travel the long road that leads to the elite of world cycling. In Oudenaarde, 35 kilometers from Brussels, a cycling organization that seeks to develop young Latin American cyclists to compete on the Old Continent was waiting for him.
The Java-Start Junior Team and its blue jersey became Lolo’s new skin in his development within European cycling. Headed by an Argentine, Mauricio Frazer, Java – Start is looking for young talents up to 18 years of age and set its sights on the rider from Roca after he won the gold medal at the last Araucanía Games.
New reality, the usual dream and a day in the life of Lolo in Belgium. “We get up early in the morning, we prepare our breakfast, which can be more or less abundant depending on the activity of the day, and we look at the weather forecast. It rains a lot here, it is very humid and we go out to train when the conditions allow it”, Lorenzo told Black river from Oudenaarde, in the Flanders region. “Cycling is lived a lot in this city and most of the classic tests of the discipline take place here”.
Lolo lives in a three-story house with a group of six Latin American cyclists. The bicycles and logistics for each test are prepared on the first floor, the dining rooms and kitchen are on the second floor, and the bedrooms are on the upper floor.
“In the team they prioritize three aspects: good nutrition, adequate preparation and rest. The philosophy of the Java-Start is that we progress physically and add experience, beyond the results. The level here is very high.”
Beyond the differences that Heredia points out between Franco-Belgian and Latin American cycling, Lolo did not do badly at all in his first competitions. In his first test in the region, a week after arriving at the team headquarters, Among 135 participants, with the 81 kilometer route (9 laps on a 9 kilometer circuit), Lorenzo classified 15th.
Days later, the second competition was in Orroir, for the Phalempin Grand Prix, 72 kilometers with 8 laps around a circuit. Out of 122 cyclists, where only 50 completed the course, Lorenzo was left with 14th place overall, being the second cyclist of the team in the qualifier, behind the Uruguayan Ciro Pérez, who arrived sixth.
This weekend he had to debut on the routes of France in Le Tour du Bocage, against 25 French teams, 10 foreign teams and with 175 cyclists in the starting line.
The calendar to which Lolo is affected is not fixed and is adjusted week by week. «Depending on your performance you go to more or less races. everything is in the decision of the technician. My stay is until June, but if they are satisfied with my evolution, it will be extended for three more months »
Lolo’s illusion is brewing in the cradle of cycling: “My expectations are being met. Being in the top 15 is good for meBut I know that it won’t always be like that. There is a lot to learn and keep working. But before the end of my stay here I want to win a race”.
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