David Martín gives a talk about cycling, mechanics and road safety at the Aljarafe School

David Martín Romero from Seville is one of the six new faces that reinforced the Kometa-Xstra Cycling Team U23 for the 2020 season, but during some hours of this Monday 17th February he changed his dream of being a professional cyclist for the one of working as a ‘teacher’ for the students of the Aljarafe School in Mairena del Aljarafe, Seville. A center where the cyclist himself took classes in his day.

Martín gave some talks on cycling in which he dealt with everything from road safety to mechanics, without ignoring how he has been up to now in the world of competitive cycling and what his dreams are. The rider of the U23 team of the Alberto Contador Foundation prepared his speech thoroughly and used audiovisual material and slides for the occasion. It is common for riders to have mechanical concerns about their work material, but in Martin’s case it is even more so as he has worked for several years as a mechanic in a shop while he was starting to compete.

“It has been an unforgettable experience and I hope that we can repeat it soon”, says a Martin who put a lot of emphasis on the importance of the use of helmets or on how one should ride both on the road and on the bike lanes. “What surprised me most is that the guys have very little idea of the dangers that lurk behind a bad use of the material. Or how little they are taught about an issue as important as road safety,” says the rider.

At the Aljarafe School, they follow very interesting pedagogical methodologies when it comes to promoting the bicycle, and their Bike Day, which takes place in mid-March, has become an event within the population in just ten years. Many activities are organised around this day and the schoolchildren of the centre take a tour of both the streets of Mairena and the iconic Porzuna park. They also promote multiple solidarity initiatives. “At this centre,” explains David, “they also have a very nice campaign, similar to the Contador Foundation’s Bicis para la Vida by ŠKODA, but focused on toys that are distributed in disadvantaged areas of Morocco”.

(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)