RoadBikeReview sits down with Chechu Rubiera
By Stephanie Gutowski
Chechu Rubiera has had quite an amazing career beginning in 1995 with Artiach. He had his first major win at the Giro d’Italia as a young Kelme rider in 1997. He turned down a Cofidis offer to ride for US Postal Services and Lance Armstrong in 2001. He rode with Armstrong in US Postal Services and Discovery Channel. Rubiera will now ride his final year with Astana. Rubiera has decided to retire at the end of this season. RoadBikeReview caught up with this incredible climber in Palo Alto.
I last saw you race, here in the States, at the San Francisco Grand Prix….
I love that race!! It’s a pity they do not do that race anymore. For me that race was the nicest race of the season. It was so wonderful. The course was fun, the nice weather, the beautiful city and the atmosphere was great. It was at the end of the season so there was no pressure. We all enjoyed that race.
How did the decision to go to Astana work out? Did you wait for Astana?
I did not wait. The fact is I did not have an offer. I had been in touch with Rock Racing and a few weeks later Johan called me. What I wanted to do was to race one more year and then stop. It’s good to stop when you want to stop.
With you looking at retirement at the end of the season….what are some highlights you look back on as favorites?
Most of the special moments are from the Giro. (Chechu won Stage 19 in the 1997 Giro d’Italia as a member of Kelme. It was only his second year as a professional rider. He also won Stage 13 in the 2000 Giro d’Italia, also as a member of Kelme.) The Giro has many wonderful moments for me. I remember those times with good feelings.
It was also great to ride with Lance (Armstrong). We always focused the first part of the season for the Tour. Everything was for the Tour. We did not have pressure with the other races. The races were to help condition us for the Tour. Lance was always super strong in the Tour and we really enjoyed that. It was also fun with Lance. There were people like Robin Williams and Sheryl Crow around and so many others that came by to visit us. It was a nice experience for me.
Lance controlled everything that had to do with the Tour. He was involved in equipment, teammates, materials….everything. He was always taking care of things with Johan. He even helped with training camps and was always checking out the Tour courses….especially the climbs. All of the stuff we do now is because it was the way we used to do things. I think the changes Lance made has been really good for cycling.
During the climbs, Lance would tell us the speed we needed to go up. Sometimes he would ask us to go faster and we couldn’t (laughing). I remember a time when Lance was on my wheel and he was telling me to keep going at this speed. When he was ready to attack he said, “Okay, 200m attack!” I would then put my head down and attack. After 200m he would attack and blow up the field. I then rode to the side of the road and finished. I would do this again the next day. It was very much a team win. He was always with us in the team rooms chatting with us, thanking us for the hard work. He gave us a lot of support. We were ready to work again the next day. Everything we did, with Lance, was for the Tour. When we crossed the finish line in Paris with Lance in yellow, we were so happy with our families around us, and the big party. It was perfect.
The Giro was special because I was young and got my victories. The Lance Tour years were nice. Both are different but are in my heart.
How do you feel about Astana not being invited to ride the Giro and the Tour…especially since you are retiring at the end of the year?
I had hoped to do the Giro. I was focusing on that race and I really like that race. It was in my program but now it looks like everything in cycling is a big mess. There are no rules and you can do whatever you want. Now there are no safe investments in cycling for sponsors. The rules are changing on who can go and who cannot. It should be based on who is the strongest team with the strongest riders. The strongest team should always go….if the strongest team is clean and they have a license then they should go. The Pro Tour is a big mess now and someone needs to work to fix this mess. We are losing the opportunity to become the biggest sport the world. High Road is going to the Giro but I don’t think we will go. I thought maybe we would be in the same situation as High Road and get an invite. High Road is in the same situation as my team so I thought they may follow the same decision for us…but now it looks like we are different. I am happy for them but it’s difficult for us. We found out first from the press that we were not going and then the team told us.
What are your plans after you retire?
I want to work in my hometown…maybe an easy job to keep enjoying my bike (smiles). I would like to help the young riders in my region. It would be nice to get sponsors to help these young riders in the Nationals. I am not thinking of cycling anymore than that. I want to stay at home with my family for a few years. I owe them so much
How about the Tour of California?
Today we were training and we saw at least 1,000 people riding their bike. That’s something special. It was great to see this. I rode the forests here and I loved it. When I was here for the San Francisco Grand Prix I was able to ride in the Redwoods Forrest and I loved it. I love riding with trees. The style of life here in California is wonderful. The natural beauty here is great. The race is going to be fun. The riders we saw today were cheering for us. I think I am going to like riding this race.
Note: On Stage 3, Modesto to San Jose with the HC category Mt. Hamilton climb, Rubiera finished an incredible ride for fellow teammate, Levi Leipheimer. Levi stated after the stage, “Chechu was phenomenal today. I raced with him before and I have never seen him ride so well. He did an enormous amount of work over Mt. Hamilton and then all the way down the descent and then again he pulled half way up Sierra Road until there were only five riders left by the time he was done.” It was very reminiscent of Rubiera’s climbs for former teammate Lance Armstrong. Leipheimer now wears the GC leader jersey.
Photo by Raymond Galang
