One more tour to the Condor of America

They say he was faster than the wind and bolder than hitting Rambo. He wanted to be a footballer, but his legs were meant to pedaling. They say that his opponents saw him coming when they looked on his shoulders, but that the next instant they saw him only ahead and small. It is said that he wanted to imitate the father of the country and, to make it more complicated, it was not one, but five times he crossed the The Andes mountain range riding-Yeah.He competed with the best, because he was one of them . A very traveled guy. He walked through Rome, Tokyo and Mexico. But not for tourism, but to be measured at the Olympic Games. Those who saw him up close confirm what they imagined by those who only listened to him on the radio: the guy did not ride a bike, but this was almost an extension of his body. And now, 60 years later, he is seen in his humble bicycle shop, pointing out the vice that gave him so much success. There's the Condor of America.

Brief biography

He was born on June 19, 1937 in Junín, Mendoza, 65 kilometers from the city.And, contrary to what we might assume from the achievements made , he began to compete bybicycleat the late age of 19, and by bike Borrowed.

The competitive debut of the Condor of America was with a triumph, in 1956, in the neighboring department of San Martín. Later he was proclaimed champion of Mendoza, beating Arturo Tejedor, one of the greatest cyclists of those years. Within a few months, he became Argentine champion of track chase with an Argentine record in the Buenos Aires city of Trenque Lauquen.

Anecdote in Trenque Lauquen

When, in 1956, the Cuban delegation arrived at the Argentine Championship headquarters in Trenque Lauquen, the San Juan leader Robledo took his chest against the specializedjournalists knowing that in the team he kept a big surprise.

“I bring a mendocino who made 5' 10” in the 4000 meters,” he said and his peers thought it was a joke because then the national record belonged to Pedro Salas (5' 24"), ranked for the Olympic Games in Melbourne.

Contreras, 19, pedaled in front of the