Escartín, the Tour stage winner who has experienced the two worst floods in the history of Spain

One of his pupils, the midfielder Ruben Garciawho came into the world in Jávita, was no less and also moved to Paiporta, where many of his relatives live, to help in humanitarian work. Neither of them was in Osasuna’s Cup match on Tuesday against Chiclana, they prioritized love for their people over a victory.

In addition to footballers and coaches, as well as the Granada walker María Pérez or the current Dakar champion Cristina Gutierrezone of the most recognizable faces of sport amidst the catastrophe has been that of Fernando Escartín. It is possible that only cycling fans remember the man from Huesca, a runner who became famous in Mapei and Kelme, but thanks to his tireless, gregarious spirit of category, he began to carve out a place for himself in the elite.

“He always ran as if he were hunched over, with a chepudo, he was somewhat lacking in style,” recall the most experienced chroniclers. However, that capacity for suffering brought him fame on June 20, 1999, when he conquered the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France in the Piau Engaly, a hellish succession of mountains in the heart of the Pyrenees only suitable for brave people that allowed him to finish the French round in third position, only behind a doped Lance Armstrong and the Swiss Alex Zulle.

Heroism that, on the other hand, is dwarfed by his experiences as a citizen, since Escarpín, 56 years old, has personally suffered the last two major floods in the history of Spain.

The ex-cyclist was present when a waterspout devastated the campsite. The Snows of Biescas (Huesca) in 1996, a tragedy that left 87 dead behind it, and he has also had to experience the DANA in the south of Valencia, since Fernando has lived for years with his wife in Alfafar, another of the towns that has suffered the most in the last week. «I was out of town for work (Fernando designs stages for the Return to Spain in addition to representing a brand of women’s cycling clothing), in the Basque Country, and when I saw it on television I couldn’t believe it. Seeing the destroyed and overturned cars brought to mind what happened almost thirty years ago,” Escarpín sadly acknowledges to ABC.

He was not even able to return to his family, who was incommunicado. He had to travel to Valenciawhere she slept at a family friend’s house and, the next day, the horror appeared before her eyes again. «It has nothing to do with what people see on television. “It’s Dantesque, like a war but without bombs.” .

«I remember the flood of ’96, it was horrible, it left a big mark on me because I was born there, in Biescas, but it has nothing to do with the one now, that one was very small if compared to this DANA. I have never felt so much anger in my life as I have during the last week. My house has not suffered especially because I live in an elevated part of Alfafar, but my wife’s family has lost their homes, their vehicles, everything they held dear. My friends, with whom I go riding my bike on the weekends, have been left with nothing. Although thank goodness we have not had any nearby victims,” says Escarpín, who speaks while on a mission.

In the mornings, after helping his family and neighbors, he takes the car and goes to the north of Valencia looking for cleaning materials and work clothes, two of the most requested items at ground zero. «When I arrive at a store and see that it is empty, it makes me happy. That means that they have already taken everything to Valencia. “People have turned to us,” explains the man from Huesca, who has a serene speech, far from the simplistic stereotype of elite athletes.

«Honestly, the Valencian people have demonstrated their worth, their character. I don’t get into political opinions, mainly because I am not an expert on the subject, but what I can tell you is that we are coming out of this united, being a pineapple. We must also thank the volunteers for their work, very young people, who were the first to jump into the mud to help us. The industrial estates are destroyed, the agricultural plantations flooded, the businesses destroyed, but I am sure that people will stay and live here. At least that’s what I’ll do. “Life goes on, we just have to fight,” the cyclist explains, with that impetus that made him reach the top of his sport, since very few mortals have been crowned in the most difficult event in the world. A man who, in a way, has always been pedaling against the current.