Home » Top Stories » Road »

The Sunday Interview: Eusebio Unzué

Published: Feb. 25, 2007
Unzué is optimistic regarding Valverde's Tour chances
Unzué is optimistic regarding Valverde's Tour chances
Photo: Andrew Hood

Eusebio Unzué has had a front-row seat to some of the most exciting exploits in cycling. The affable and passionate sport director for Spain’s Navarra region helped guide Pedro Delgado and then Miguel Indurain into the record books during what were the golden years of Spanish cycling in the late 1980s and mid-1990s.

As sport director at Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears, Unzué is already well into his third decade behind the wheel in Spain’s most consistent and successful team. Unzué, who celebrates his 52nd birthday on Monday, has been the right-hand man to team manager José Miguel Echávvari through such teams as Reynolds, Banesto, iBanesto.com and its latest reincarnation with co-sponsors Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears.

Never one to feel nostalgic about the past, Unzué is optimistic that Spanish phenomenon Alejandro Valverde has what it takes to climb to the highest step of the Tour de France podium. Still, he concedes some frustration regarding the entire 2006 Tour doping debacle, which has soured the team’s return to the Tour podium for the first time since 1999, with Oscar Pereiro’s runner-up finish behind Floyd Landis.

VN.com: Let’s talk about your new star pupil, Alejandro Valverde. Everyone says he can win the Tour, but he has yet to finish a Tour in two starts, do you think he has the all-around skills to seriously contend for the yellow jersey? Or does he still have something to prove in the Tour?

Eusebio Unzué: We don’t know if he will win, but we know he has the potential to win. He is one of the two or three riders who have made the progression the past few years to be in position to win the Tour. He’s already a great classics racer; he’s proven that already. Every year he’s stepped up and improved one facet of his game, both on and off the bike. He was more convincing in 2006, even with his problems in the Tour [crashing out with a broken clavicle]. He almost won the Vuelta last year and that wasn’t even one of his season goals. He’s been three times in the top four at the Vuelta, he’s won big classics, and he won the ProTour. Even though those are very different than the Tour, he’s shown steady improvement each year. So, yes, Alejandro could win the Tour. Whether he will, we have to wait to see.

VN.com: Valverde’s Achilles heel seems to be his time-trialing skill. Even he admits he doesn’t like it. Can he overcome this handicap or is it simply something he has to make adjustments for and admit he’ll be moving backwards against his other rivals in the long time trials?

EU: It’s true he’s never going to be one of those specialists who can mark big differences. He’s no Lance Armstrong or Miguel Indurain in time trialing, that much is obvious. The Tour is one race where a great time trialist can make a huge difference. Lucky for us, there doesn’t seem to be a great, great time trialist right now who can also climb with the best. This was the key to the big differences. Lance and Miguel were the best time trialists and they could climb with the best. Alejandro is a good climber who is progressing in the time trial. We are working with him on his position. He is training more on the time-trial bike. He has shown improvements and we saw the fruit of our work in the Vuelta when he didn’t lose so much time to the likes of Vinokourov. Some riders just don’t have a natural inclination toward time trialing and I would say Alejandro is one of those. It costs him to work on time trial, but he realizes the importance of the discipline in his larger goals in the Tour. If he continues to make progress, he will be able to defend his position against the specialists without ceding too much time.

VN.com: Valverde has started two Tours but has yet to finish one. Are you worried about that?

EU: Yes and no. Yes, because of course you have to finish the Tour in order to win! But it’s not a major concern for us right now. In his first Tour, Alejandro was able to experience more than half of what the Tour is without pressure. Yet look at what he did – he won a mountain stage ahead of Armstrong in the high Alps and was leading the young rider’s classification. Even though his injury forced him out, he was able to learn from those experiences. Last year was different. A crash took him out in the first week and that was some bad luck. As soon as he crashed, we knew he his Tour was finished. But he’s learned from both of those experiences. He’s learned what he needs to do to prepare properly for the Tour. He’s learned what the stress of the Tour. He’s been able to assimilate the pressure of the Tour, from the media, from the team, from the other riders. The stress and the pressure of the Tour are totally different. He’s been able to learn even though he hasn’t arrived to Paris.

VN.com: Valverde seems cut from the mold of Laurent Jalabert, a great all-rounder who could attack, win stages and win shorter stage raecs, but could never time trial or climb well enough to win the Tour. Is there too much pressure and are the expectations too high when it comes to the Tour for Valverde?

EU: We still have to wait to see. The second, third and fourth places can still give a big satisfaction. The best thing about Alejandro is his capacity to raise the expectation of victory, both within himself and within the team. He brings a confidence to the team. Everyone knows that when Alejandro is in the race, he has the potential to win. He is multi-faceted in his abilities in a way that we haven’t seen in a long time. He can sprint, he can win classics, he can win stage races of one week, he can climb and including to have aspirations for the Tour. You want to set the bar high and we can modify his program to aim for the Tour. It’s going to be his big objective for the next two or three years. He is like a Jalabert, he brings the team an option for victory in every race he starts. If he’s good, the team will give everything for him because they know they will be rewarded with a victory at the end of the day. He needs to apply that more specifically toward the Tour.

VN.com: What kind of person is Valverde? Is he tinkering on the bike, dissecting the strategy, a joker? From what we’ve seen of him, he seems like a pretty relaxed character!

EU: He is a rider who simply needs to win. He eats victories. He’s more of a man of action than a man of words. He’s not like a rider like Armstrong who would disassemble everything and analyze the entire race. Alejandro operates more on instinct. I’ve never been around a rider with a better nose for victory than Alejandro. He’s always there. If it’s a sprint, you can see him mixing it up with the best. He’s a fighter. He wants to win from the very first race and win the last race. He races from February to October. More than anything, we have to rein him in a little bit and try to teach him to focus his forces in a more efficient way. We tell him, "Alejandro, hold your reserves, wait for the important races, wait for the important moments. You don’t have to win every race you start. Everyone knows you can win. You need to proportion your expenditure of energy." That’s not always easy for him.

VN.com: Looking at the team’s other big story with Oscar Pereiro. Here it is already February and the team is still waiting for news on the Tour — how has that situation been for Oscar and for the team?

EU: It’s frustrating for everyone, not just Pereiro. It was the worst thing that could have happened to the sport at the worst moment, the new disaster that cycling couldn’t afford to suffer. We are at the limit of credibility of the sport. It’s a discredit to us all. There’s no solution for anyone. It’s like having a cadaver and not knowing where to bury it.

VN.com: From your perspective, does Pereiro deserve the win?

EU: For our sponsor, of course, we want the victory if the process is concluded in that way, but that cannot overcome the damage that’s been caused by this business. I almost prefer that it wouldn’t happen. Oscar hasn’t been able to enjoy his second place because of the uncertainty and if he is awarded the victory at such a late date, he won’t be able to enjoy that either. It’s likely we will start the 2007 Tour without knowing who the winning of the 2006 Tour is. It’s hard for us to measure the losses that have not been able to be enjoyed with the Tour. Even if we are awarded the victory, it’s a hollow victory because we’re all a little discredited. The only medicine is to race again, the passage of time and to not commit the same errors.

VN.com: How will the team handle Pereiro and Valverde in terms of leadership for the team in the 2007 Tour? Will Pereiro want a larger role on the team? Would Valverde have a problem with that?

EU: That’s not an issue at all. They are both aware that in their situations they are better off with each of them there working together. They realize they are stronger as two than just one alone. Pereiro has proven he can finish in the top 10 and finish on the podium, whereas Valverde has the potential, so they are both candidates for the podium for next year. They will both prepare for the maximum for the Tour, work together and rally behind whoever is the strongest during the race. They are both in agreement on that and there’s no point of conflict for them.

VN.com: The sport is facing a grave crisis with doping and its credibility. Are you optimistic that enough’s being done to curb cheating and to win back the hearts and minds of fans and media?

EU: I still believe in this sport. I know that we pay a very high price for every error that we make. Sometimes the sport is treated so badly, sometimes it gives me more motivation to work that much harder to give the sport something more it deserves. We are risking the future of the sport. The consequences of our actions now are more important than ever. The sport cannot commit the same mistakes of the past.

VN.com: To avoid those future mistakes, what do you think is required? Additional out-of-competition tests? DNA testing?

EU: Whether we do an additional 100, 200 or 400 controls, I don’t see the value in that if we don’t have a certain trust and confidence in our riders. We make all the required controls, not more or not less, it’s the riders who have to adapt to the times. We have to neutralize the errors that have been committed and contribute to the betterment of our sport. Unfortunately, the theme of doping is "monotone" and we must regain the trust. We cannot continue to have this constant doubt and work in this ambiance. If it stays like this, that’s the day that I would leave the sport. Cycling cannot afford another doping scandal and I believe everyone realizes that. I am confident everyone in cycling is working together to ensure that doesn’t happen again. We are all paying the price of the mistakes of a few.

VN.com: You have been working in cycling a long time, what keeps you coming back for more? Here you are at the start of another season — do you still feel the same excitement as you did in the 1970s and 1980s when things were just starting to take off for the team?

EU: I’ve been in this world since I was 18 years old, first with my own modest racing career and then having the luxury of working as a sport director for some of the greatest cyclists in history. I recognize that I have an addiction to this sport. I’ve been lucky enough to have tremendous success. From the phenomenal Miguel Indurain to such riders as Arroyo, Delgado, Gorospe, Olano, Zulle, Jiménez and so many others. I feel like I have been blessed. Despite that success, I always have the same motivation, the same excitement at the beginning of the season. I always get that exciting feeling that comes with a victory, that comes with being at the races, from working with promising riders. I have a long love affaire with this sport.

VN.com: You were the sport director during the golden years of Spanish cycling, with the Tour victories of Delgado and then five straight with Indurain. Do you feel nostalgic for those times?

EU: Never. Of course, I remember them fondly and they were many magical moments, from the first Tour victory to the last. But even since Miguel retired, we were always promoting candidates for victory, which is never easy, especially when you’re up against a phenomenon like Armstrong. Now that Armstrong is enjoying his retirement, the rest of us can once again have dreams of victory. We believe that with Valverde, we have such a candidate.

VN.com: What is your fondest memory of the Indurain era?

EU: Oh, there are so many, but what’s sure is that Miguel was a true champion, a man beyond the reach of normal men. The way he would win with such humility. Sometimes we would go crazy with him for the gifts he would give away with the stages he would let others win. We would say, "Miguel, you have worked hard for those victories, too, you shouldn’t just give them away like that." As well as the act of letting so many victories go away almost would cheapen the value of the win. Of course, once riders realized Miguel would do this, they would kill themselves to stay on his wheel because they knew they would get a free victory. But that was his way and everyone loved him for it. He would say that’s the way he wants to do it. Of course, he knew he was going to win the Tour and that was enough for him.

VN.com: Beyond his racing achievements, how was Indurain different than others?

EU: When I realized that Indurain was an authentic champion was how he reacted more when he lost than when he won. His comportment was impressive. He was so sage, such a gentleman, he took it with such grace. When it was over for Miguel, he knew it and accepted it. It wasn’t something untoward and it revealed so much about his character. That is something that we never got to saw with Armstrong. Some say it’s better to leave without losing, but cycling is just as much about losing and dealing with that human disappointment as it is about winning. That defeat in a way closes the circle.