Sánchez: "Lack of teams the achilles heel"

A short but interesting interview with Samuel Sánchez appeared on CMD Sport's website this morning. Here's a transcript:

Question (Q): What achievement on the bike makes you most proud?

Sánchez (SS): Perhaps winning Olympic gold in Beijing 2008. That was very special. It was beautiful, an unforgettable moment, and the dream of every athlete came true that day. I received recognition from the whole world.

Q: What's Samuel Sánchez's everyday life like? What do you do when you're not riding?

SS: I basically train and rest, but I also try to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends. I'm a quiet person; I like to stay home and play with my kids and my German Shepherd.

Q: What does your training plan consist of?

SS: I train with a Power Meter and, from there, I do what they tell me to do. It's also important to plan the season as a whole, the rest periods, the training periods etc.

Q: Do you follow your diet?

SS: I try to eat healthy and watch what I eat, but I'm not obsessing and doing things that lead to nothing.

Q: How does a case like the one of Alberto Contador affect the image of cycling in Spain? Are we going through a bad patch?

SS: It negatively affects both cycling and sport in general. Spain have the best cyclists in the world, but, somehow, not enough teams to house them all. That's the achilles heel at the moment.

Q: It seems that more and more people are following cycling, though. Why do you think that is?

SS: It's probably down to the good performances of the Spaniards. We're in one of the best epochs of Spanish cycling - Spaniards are shining in all cycling disciplines worldwide. That engages people and make them fond of the sport.

Q: What would you do for a living if you weren't a cyclist?

SS: I'd be a motorcycle rider.

Q: What are your next challenges? You've said that the Tour de France is one of your biggest goals...

SS: This part of the season is centred on the Tour, in which I'll try to do the same as I've done in the last few years.

Q: And what do you make of the Olympics? Are you going there to win gold?

SS: It's still a long way off. First up is the Tour, and we'll see how I progress there. But if I do to London, sure, I'll be gunning for the maximum.

Read it in Spanish here.