José Hermida and Joaquim “Purito” Rodríguez will be tackling the eighth Cape Epic when it kicks off March 19.
Hermida will be back for his eighth one and together with Rodríguez they will be riding as Merida Factory Racing.
José Hermida and Joaquim “Purito” Rodríguez will be tackling the eighth Cape Epic when it kicks off March 19. Photo: Gary Perkin
“It’s gonna be a challenge to get both at same point of focus – as you know we are both Spanish and talk a lot, but for sure if we make things good we can make some big days and surprise everybody,” said Hermida.
“We have another high profile team in the event in George Hincapie and Cadel Evans. It will be my job to attack Cadel, while Purito will concentrate on keeping George under control.”
Rodríguez notched up fourteen stage victories in Grand Tours and second place overall in the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.
He came home third overall in the 2013 Tour de France. He led in the UCI world rankings in 2010, 2012 and 2013, and also won classics such as the Flèche Wallonne.
“Our goal is to perform at the highest possible level, and our recent physical shape should put us in a very competitive position,” said Rodríguez.
