Ander Okamika, the king of breakaways in the Vuelta a España

Ander Okamika, of the Burgos-BH team, during the escape in the stage from Sanlúcar de Barrameda to Tomares. Javier Lizón (EFE)

In February 2020, Ander Okamika (Lekeitio, Bizkaia; 29 years old) was a renowned triathlete, Euskadi champion and 17th in the World Championship the previous year.

In July 2020 he became a cyclist, signed by Netllar Telecom-Alé.

And in January 2021, almost 28 years old, he signed for Burgos-BH to become a professional.

A different and dazzling race for this cyclist who is fighting for the award for combativeness in the Vuelta, because with the stage from Sanlúcar de Barrameda to Tomares there are already four days in which he has broken away, more kilometers in the lead than no one.

Okamika did not think about dedicating himself to cycling until the pandemic exploded, when all the tests were canceled and he decided to go on the road, enhance what he was best at.

And that in 2018 he had a good scare, hit by a car when he was training with some friends on the road from Lekeitio to Ondarroa.

“It is an area where there are many curves in a row, I trusted one, entered the other lane and went directly against the car”, he revealed;

"The driver had no fault and I am very sorry for the moment I made him go through."

He saved, in any case, the helmet, because with the bump he lost several teeth, suffered a broken nose and cuts on his tongue and lips to spend a few days in the hospital.

Insufficient, however, for me to put the brakes on,

But he jumped on the bike with the amateur team.

“He did it wonderfully”, they say from Burgos-BH;

"Because he stood out in the few races he played."

Although none like in the Elite Spain championship (over 23 years old who are not professionals) in which he won the time trial.

And, suddenly, he was already a professional.

“I never thought it would come to this.

If they told me a year ago, I would not believe what is happening to me, so my goal is to learn and adapt to professionalism as best as possible, ”she resolved when they presented it.

For physical condition it would not be, for training neither.

“But he did lack a lot in terms of knowing how to ride with the peloton.

And that this year the mountain jersey has been close in the Vuelta Andalucía, where he almost won a stage like in the Vuelta a Valencia (he was second) ”, they explain in Burgos-BH.

“We teach him among all, especially the companions.

But he also learns with each race because when he sees that he gets cut off or suffers, he examines if he has opened up too much, if the line was not good, if the position was not correct... ”, they add from the team;

“So at the beginning I bet a lot on getting into breakaways so as not to suffer”.

Something that he also does in this Vuelta, with four escapes to his credit, already the rider with the most kilometers in the lead (572), followed by Battistella (from Astana with 449 km).

Okamika, as soon as he left Sanlúcar de Barrameda, pressed the accelerator together with Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel) -solidarity in this Vuelta because he already warned that he would donate a tree for every kilometer that he ran to repopulate Sierra Bermeja, near his Marbella, after the fire that he suffered the previous year - and the leak simmered until with 15 kilometers to go the peloton absorbed them.

"Maté needed help planting trees and since I'm easy to get involved with, I've joined," Okamika resolved gracefully.

Although he added: “We knew it was a very difficult day for breakaways.

He has touched me, seeing the stages to come was the best and as a fighting team we have allowed ourselves to be seen.

Options few.

But if you play the lottery, one day it's time."

There are five stages left for the Vuelta to prove it.

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