The championship was held during the last weekend in Soria. Our athletes went from the Mallorca to the city of Soria, in order to participate in the team relay category.
Despite having a very time on Saturday, in which they could not qualify for podium and they weren’t considered favorites, the guys from Ferrer Hotels surprised everyone on Sunday when they got the first place. With a tight finish of 1:02:41, our team managed to stay ahead of the second team (Jesús Del Val, Romaric Forques y Javier Lluch of Cidade de Lugo Fluvial), by three seconds.
After their heroic deed, we have interviewed them to know how they lived the championship, how they are savoring the title and what it feels like, when your partner goes running barefoot.
When we talked to Nil Riudavets, the youngest of the team, we could note perfectly the excitement in his voice as he told us: “It was my second time competing in a race of this nature and the feeling was fantastic. On Sunday, I did the first relay and got a little close in passing the baton to Biel, because we had two very strong teams ahead and behind us. I feel very happy with this title.”
With a couple more years behind him, Biel Oliver also tells his experience at the championship, filled with enthusiasm: “On Sunday, there were 5 of us in the team, when we could have been up to 6, and Toumi was the only elite in the team, so we had already started with a disadvantage, and together with it not being one of our best days, we were left on the 7th place. On Saturday, Nil had a little bit of bad luck for not wearing toeclips, and when he passed me the baton, I thought to myself the race was as good as lost, but I gathered all my strength and managed to pass the baton onto Toumi on the 4th place, just 3 seconds apart from the 1st place. This title represents a great satisfaction, because I ran the competition by chance, substituting for my colleague Carlitos, which had felt discomfort in his knee the night before, and thus preferred not to participate. And now look at us, we are leaving with the 1st place!
Finally, we spoke with Toumi Dahmani, who, apart from being the last runner, had surprised everyone by running barefoot, in order to avoid wasting time in the transition and thus recovering the time that separated them from the first team. His feelings regarding the championship and the prize are very clear: "We are very happy, we have made a very good race and it is a greater satisfaction to win as a team rather than individually."
When asked about his technique of running barefoot, he laughs and answers: “I understand that it surprises people, but there is logic behind it, that I will reveal at the right time. I had already planned to use the technique in previous competitions, but for various reasons this was not possible. Now I am very happy that the technique had the desired effect and especially because it has managed to give us the seconds that we needed to win."
As we ask his race colleagues about the technique, their responses are what you would expect in this situation: “When I saw that Biel was passing the baton to Toumi, and that Toumi went running barefoot, I was stunned, I had no idea that he had planned that” Nil tells us laughingly. “The technique drew a lot of attention among the public and also among the other participants. Toumi was our only elite and something so innovative always draws attention and creates controversy. Toumi is fantastic.” recalls Biel.
Seeing them train, compete and now interviewing them, we realize more than ever that these and all the athletes of our team are the ones that really inspire the philosophy of Ferrer Hotels. The constant effort, commitment, proactivity, love for what they do and their energy inspire us. Thank you and congratulations for the title, champions!
