THE EL SALVADOR EXPERIENCE

Olympic spots are rarely reserved for riders from El Salvador. A rider from the smallest country in the Americas has never medalled and typically it has only eight riders across all disciplines.

Former track and road rider Evelyn García competed in three Games between 2004 and 2012, but qualifying for London – where she eventually finished 26th in the road race – was a testing journey.

García (pictured) tells CW: “I wasn’t riding with a pro team and I needed points to get to London. I could have gone to Europe but can you imagine riding in a peloton of 200 riders trying to get 20 points every race? We had the Vuelta el Salvador and the federation decided we needed to increase the race’s standing so they invited the Italians, the Americans, riders from Ukraine and Belarus, and other bigger countries.”

She finished third and managed to secure all the points she needed in a week, and received around £30,000 to help prepare for the London Games. Determined to represent her country in the best way, García “went to Colombia and trained at altitude for four months”.

All that was left was for Garcia to collect her four suitcases worth of kit, like the Brits. “For us?” García laughs. “No! The big countries have a jacket for if it’s warm, cold or raining, but not us. A small bag, two shorts, two T-shirts, one jacket, cycling kit and that was it.”