the winner of our celebration of chechu contest is.....

Sophia M. of Cannes!

Well, we all know Chechu has decided to wait a year on his retirement and we're delighted by this news, so we'll celebrate this change of plans by sharing Sophia's winning essay with you here. Sophia will join us at the VIP viewing tent on Sunday in Madrid where we can celebrate Chechu's contract extention and hopefully Alberto's win. It's all good at Astana Team Cycling!

Congratulations, Sophia!

“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” - Bob Dylan

How well Bob Dylan knows Chechu! Jose Luis Rubiera has understood it all. Doing a job he loves sets him apart from most of humanity who are burdened with a humdrum existence, and for whom the freedom to choose jobs is just a dream. But Chechu understood the responsibility he bore, not only to his team mates but also to his fans. It’s the image I have of him as a rider, one of elegance and grace of character.

Of course there are moments of pure athleticism that remain imprinted on the mind. The crazy acceleration on Alpe d’Huez that stunned commentators to silence, and Ullrich to despair; or the steadying hand calming Armstrong on his disaster-filled climb to Luz Ardiden. However if Chechu’s career is to be encapsulated in a few words, it is not a career of images that comes to mind, it is a career of intangible virtues instead. How else to describe a gentleman of quality?

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