At 45 years old, the coach of the Argentine National Team is going through a great personal moment. Last December he won the Qatar World Cup with Argentina, something that changed his life forever.
Once he retired as a footballer, in 2015, Lionel Scaloni was recommended to do cycling to lower anxiety and stay in physical shape. At that time, the santafesino complied at the foot of the canyon with the indication of the doctors and began to practice cycling. Over time, the current coach became a true sports fan.
It is increasingly common among elite athletes who decide to retire. In a deck, Luis Enrique joined the Dakar cycling, an extreme mountain bike competition in South Africa. And Manu Ginóbili became addicted to the bicycle. He usually uploads photos of his long pedals with Tim Duncan and a few months ago he joked about the chance to reach the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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And it is also the case of the technical director of the Argentine team world champion in Qatar. Whenever his time allows, Scaloni takes the opportunity to enjoy his B side: getting on the bike and pedaling for hours. Although, in recent days the coach starred in an extreme challenge, in the style of Luis Enrique.
The Argentine accepted the challenge of Pedro Delgado, the former Spanish cyclist who won the Tour de France (1988) and the Vuelta a España (1985-1989), who challenged him to climb El Angliru, one of the peaks of the mythical tour of Spain known as "the passage through hell", in Cantabria.
Delgado revealed that he invited Scaloni because his son saw him compete in the Mallorca 312 cycling tour, a race that included a hard route of 167 kilometers and almost 2,500 meters of accumulated altitude.
Scaloni's face reveals how tough the ordeal he faces.
"I was very surprised by the strength and preparation that Scaloni has. I knew I was doing well, but I didn't expect a performance like that," Delgado said on the program Perico Puertos, in charge of filming the climb.
For his part, Lionel said that it was "an incredible experience to know this mythical climb".
What is Angliru?
The Angliru is a hill in the Principality of Asturias. The mythical climb is located in the Sierra del Aramo. It has an elevation of 1570 meters and is part of the Vuelta a España since 1999. It is also considered by many as one of the toughest cycling summits.
