A spring of confinement from the daily perspective of the Czech David Andrlé
Cycling is one of the most international sports there is. And not only because of the universality of its fundamental tool, the bicycle, but also because of the traditional confluence of multiple countries in the teams or organizational structures that comprise it. It has always been said, focusing on the elite, that cycling is a tower of babel.
And this phenomenon also applies to its lower categories. Another good example of this is the U23 team of the Alberto Contador Foundation, whose 2019 team includes the Italian Alessio Acco and the Czech David Andrlé. With the central European, one of the new faces of the team, we talked on this occasion to learn first hand how he is living these weeks without competition due to the health emergency imposed by the expansion of the coronavirus.
In the Czech Republic, in general in this continental geographic area, the situation remains relatively stable. In a country of ten and a half million inhabitants, the authorities had confirmed 7.136 positive cases and a total of 210 deaths as of Thursday 23 April. “My daily routine has not changed much in recent weeks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In that sense I am lucky. Compared to Spain, we haven’t had as many cases in the Czech Republic so far,” Andrlé adds.
Confinement measures had also been taken on Czech territory, especially with regard to shops; however, it was possible to go out and exercise on the roads. However, it was possible to go out and exercise on the roads. “With the arrival of the virus in the Czech Republic, trade has been closed. And so have the schools and sports centres. Groups of no more than four people can meet on the street, and under that premise it’s possible to train on the street. It is obligatory to have your mouth and nose covered with a mask, panties or something similar during the whole time you are away from home. So far I’m doing all the strength work in the garden at home. As of this Friday, April 24, the Czech government lifted several restrictions, allowed travel abroad (with the obligation to pass a test or undergo a quarantine) and meetings of groups of ten people.
“Before the virus, my routine was reduced to going to class in the morning, with many exams, since I am in my last year of high school in the branch of Electrical Engineering, and then to training. In that sense everything is the same. With Carlos’ training I was feeling really good and I even think I have improved a lot compared to last season”, he assesses. David even made his debut with the U23 team, taking part in the first edition of the Julio López Chineta Memorial where his teammate Alessio Acco won.
“It is a pity all this situation, the impossibility of having races. The most important thing is that all this ends, and does it in the best way. I’m sure that the season will soon be back on track”, says the Czech rider, son of former professional René Andrlé. “We don’t lose contact with our colleagues, we talk to each other and the coaching staff via WhatsApp or other tools”.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
