David Ferrer, gladiator in the land of the Foro Italico, where he was a finalist in 2010 (lost to Rafa Nadal) and semi-finalist twice, unfolds these days on another type of sand: that of the dunes of the Moroccan desert. The former world number three, who hung up his racket in 2019 with 27 titles, Participate in the Titan Desert, the toughest mountain bike race in the world. A competition of 598 kilometers with 7,000 meters of elevation gain over six days.
“The hardest part is facing the dunes, riding in the sand, because you have to make a lot of effort and it’s been a lot of hours with the heat squeezing a lot”, he said Ferru to Radiogaceta de los Deportes after the second day.
The former tennis player, a fan of MTB and the road, was “fooled” by his friends from the Scott-Cala Bandida team, including Sergio Mantecón, one of the best Spanish XCO riders, now focused on the bike-marathon after 21 seasons in Olympic distance.
“It’s a lot of hours, but I’m having a great time. It’s a sport that I love and it was time to do it with friends”said Ferrer (40 years old), who after leaving the slopes trained Alexander Zverev and before leaving for Morocco he served as director of the Godó.