Twenty years of pedalling in Coín

In Coín, cycling is closely tied to the name of Nicolás Guerrero. This local, owner of a bicycle shop, began a project over two decades ago that’s already a part of the municipality’s sporting history: the Coín Cycling Club, a talent pool from which professionals such as Carmelo Urbano and Pablo Guerrero have emerged. After going through some tough times because of the pandemic, the club has resurfaced in 2022 with an upturn in membership and an homage to its founder and president, who is set to retire in the coming months. And so, the Nicolás Guerrero Cycling School is born, with the objective of teaching values to kids and to promote the sport “from its foundations”.

The Coín Cycling Club was registered as a sporting association in 2001, and since then it has been carrying out different activities and events for athletes of all ages. The cycling school is part of their efforts, a “family” space where the most important aspect is to have fun and enjoy sport. “It’s Nicolás’ distinctive trait, and we’ll work towards continuing all the good things he has created. Everyone in Coín knows him because of his profound labour,” said José Manuel Ortega, the current club secretary, who will take over from Guerrero when he retires.

Since its inception, the club’s priority has always been its base, its academy. The school’s instructors are often old students, such is the case of Urbano and Guerrero, who remain close to the club despite their professional commitments. “They’ve kept their ties with us by pure vocation, and they’re helping us a lot in this new period. The youngsters have to be taken care of and [we need] to transmit the cycling family philosophy to them, which is very important to us,” he said.

Until now, the club didn’t have membership fees, so resources were always low, Ortega explained. “The club has gone through difficult moments due to the pandemic, and [the club] almost didn’t survive. This [school] renewal has been possible thanks to the economic help from the town hall and local businesses such as Inko Cocinas.”

Now, the Nicolás Guerrero cycling school has three collaborating instructors that allow to divide the kids into three age groups. Specifically, cycling activities are carried out according to the different ages, from learning how to ride a bicyle up to competing in Spanish championships at 16 or 17 years of age.