Delgado’s victory had an important Guipuzcoan prominence, since it ran in the ranks of the Orbea, a commercial firm that gave name to the team of … The Danena de Zizurkil Sports Society driving Patxi Alkorta and Peli Egaña, wore clothes from the Etxeondo company of Irara and rode in the Orbea bicycles, which then had the headquarters in Eibar and then transferred its production to Mallabia. The director was the longing for Txomin Perurena, Oiartzuarra, who ten years ago admitted in a report for this newspaper in Navacerrada that “that day all saints appeared to us.”
– How was it to sign orbea in 1985 and leave a team as powerful as Reynolds?
– Because Echavarri had a limited budget and realizes that he has no money to hold Gorospe, Arroyo, Laguía and me. And he opted for Julian. Arroyo went to Zor and I left for orbea.
– But why orbea? I was only a year in professional cycling …
– My coach, José Luis Easter Piqueras, was the same as that of Cabestany and Jokin Mujika. It was the one who told me to go there, that there was a young and exciting team but that they needed a rows chief. I negotiated the signing with movie Egaña.
– How did you fit so much Basque?
– good. Orbea was the first team with the concept of running with people from home that then had Euskaltel. In addition to Egaña, Alkorta and Perurena were Cabestany, Mujika, Dorroonsoro, Otín, Murga … I had run a lot in the Basque Country in youth and fans and I was attracted to signing for a team there.
– What memory of that year in the team?
– Very good. In addition to the return, then I won a stage on the tour and was sixth. Spanish cycling came from a few years of crisis and we resisted the triumph in a great. In 1983, television began to take the return live but Hinault won and then Caritoux. Arroyo had made a second in the 1983 tour … That of the 1985 return was the first great victory of a Spanish cyclist in a sport that became a mass phenomenon and I got it with Orbea.
