Hermida has had the best return to racing after his trip to Taiwan to visit the Merida headquarters, where he has stayed for a week. After arriving from that trip last Monday, Hermida travelled to San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid) to attend the Gala del Deporte (Sport Ceremony). In this event, the World Cup runner-up was awarded for his sport career. We have to keep in mind that Hermida has been Junior and U-23 World Champion, 3 times Team Relay World Champion, 3 times Elite European Champion, he has won 5 World Cup rounds… among many other top victories. The rider from Puigcerdà was “happy and thankful. I feel proud whenever I get an award, but even more when it is not related to a concrete result. It is even better when it is given as a recognition to a whole career, as it shows that there are people that keep you in their minds in the good and in the bad moments. I am very thankful to San Sebastián de los Reyes City Council for this prestigious award”.

And to finalize this busy week, Hermida has taken part today in the CX Spanish Cup, where he has got 3 victories in the 5 rounds he has raced at. “The pace was very high right from the beginning, with Zaballa pushing hard in the first 3 laps. Isaac has been the first to lose contact, leaving Zaballa, Larrinaga and me leading. Larri has attacked and after a few moments I have decided to go after him, leaving Zaballa behind. This is how we got to the last lap. I have played my cards in a very steep climb, that could not always be ridden. I was leading and Larri had to step out of his bike, what allowed me to get a 5 seconds gap that took me to the finish line for a solo victory. I am happy as I was feeling tired with so much travelling in the last days and being aware that the other top riders were at a great level, after racing in 3 top races this week”, explained Hermida as he drives back home.

Now Hermida focuses on collecting as many UCI points as possible thinking on the World Championships starting grid, in case he is selected to race in the Worlds, racing in Internacional de Valencia, in a Superprestige, in the National Championships and some other races with UCI points.