José Antonio Hermida, a world champion in the Fred. Olsen Express Transgrancanaria Bike

José Antonio, an Olympic medallist, and international champion in 2010, will make his debut in the Transgrancanaria Bike next month

The 2022 Fred.Olsen Express Transgrancanaria Bike edition is supported by the Gran Canaria Cabildo, on behalf of the Department of Sports,tourism, and the San Bartolomé de Tirajana Town Council. The ambassador of the event is José Antonio Hermida, a worldwide benchmark who will compete in the race on the weekend of 20th to 22nd May.

Hermida, from Catalonia, Spain, and part of the Mérida Bikes’ team will make his debut as an important model in the world of mountain biking, as his career is marked by great results at international level.Hermida hasparticipated in 5 consecutive Olympic Games: in Athens 2004 he climbed the podium for winning the silver medal for the Spanish delegation. In two other editions he was close to winning the silver medals, and in the editions that took place in Sidney and Pekin he ended up in the 4^th position.

These Olympic results meant great successes in a period in which Hermida was one of the main competitors on the international scene. In 2010 he won the gold medal in the World Championship held in Canada, a gold medal he had already won in three previous World Championships in 1999, 2000 and 2005.

Besides, two more individual bronze medals stand out in his World Championships medal haul.In European competitions he has won 3 more individual gold medals. In total, he has won 14 medals among European and World Championships, making him one of the most important figures of the 21^st century in the mountain biking scene.

Hermidaclaims that it is “a pleasure” to return to Gran Canaria. “I was there in 1997, when I won La Vuelta de Gran Canaria just after winning the Juvenil International Competition, so I have good memories of the island”, he says. “What surprised me about the island was its landscape, the environment and the peace it brought me, despite the hostility and toughness of its routes,” he added. Now, he is retired from professional competitions, but he assures that what is important to him are “the adventures and experiences that add up in the places he travels to”.

Gran Canaria will be a new challenge for Hermida. He will participate in all three stages of the race, which has a new format and will be held between the 20^th – 22^nd May. Hermidawill try to defeat Francesc Guerra, the champion of the last 5 editions of the race, in order to add his name to the list of winners of a race that counts with such important winners as Natalia Fischer, Marga Fullana, Manuela Muresan or IbonZugasti.

The registration application is in the following web page: If you are interested in participating, bear in mind that you can enrol in as many stages as you wish and live the experience of The Fred. Olsen Express Transgrancanaria Bike.