While Julien Absalon grabs all the headlines of late (deservedly so as he his kicking XC ass all over Europe right now), 38-year-old fellow countryman Miguel Martinez continues to ride along, competing in the UCI XCO series as well as a host of other XC events throughout Europe, including this past weekend’s 3rd round of the Czech Cup in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic where he took the win, sporting what is fast becoming his signature look of Ambervision-like Sunglasses and “say my name, say my name” cycling cap.
In case you are unfamiliar with “Little Mig” as he was once known, along with a number of UCI XC, CX and World Championship wins, he was a bronze medalist in the first ever Olympic cross-country race at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and a gold medalist at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Martinez has had some what we’ll call “relationship issues of the violent nature” with his domestic partner in the past, I tend avoid such topics and just focus on the fact that one of the early legends of the sport is still out there racing and doing his thing… even if he’s rocking some rather unsightly eyewear.
Race photos by Michal Červený, mtbs.cz