Movistar Team Blogs
The Spaniard -author of the hashtag the Movistar Team uses to cheer on its women's squad during 2019- opens a series of stellar appearances from our riders, aiming to bring us to the heart of the action and offer us some expert advice from them, to enjoy this sport even more.
Hi everyone. This is Sheyla Gutiérrez –@sheyarcoiris, on social media-, a professional cyclist for the Movistar Team.
I’m not very fond of neither technology nor social media, but I feel like it’s nice to share your life with people, and together with the others, drive each other forward. It’s not like I like symbology very much, either, but in a way, it helps you create a scene with your thoughts. Since every single person has his or her way to represent things, it’s sometimes difficult for the others to decipher what you mean. Since I’m not one who can make others easily see what one means, I’ll try to elaborate on this.
For me, the rainbow is magic. It’s a smooth, gracious halo of light which makes it way throughg the clouds that attempt to cover the sun. It’s so special when you see the rainbow in the sky – And it “isn’t”, it’s not something you can touch, but you can see it. And for me, it’s beautiful to find a “color” of that rainbow in every person, in every moment of your life.
Related to those “colours” every person holds inside, some weeks ago we were asked to think about a ‘hashtag’ which could represent us all as a team, so as to use it on social media. I found an inspiration in “#AzulCieloYMásAllá” (“Sky Blue and Beyond”). The colour of our jerseys is sky blue – yet, let’s think beyond that sky! As I always say: “You think everything has a limit, and that’s how you end up: limiting yourselves.”
In life, in sport, the sky often looks dark and cloudy. It sometimes has to rain, too! Yet, life and sport are also about standing your ground and not forgetting about the magic that’s inside those situations, the essence, what has led us to where we are right now. The path may look bleak: you often try to silence your own body when you feel it’s not right; you give it your all to exhaustion, while still being doubtful about that suffering being enough to achieve your goals; sometimes, you aren’t able to take advantage from those carefully pampered crops, as they’re often destroyed by a sudden tempest; you also try not to leave that regulated path, that one you’re supposed to follow for everything to go right, even if you can’t enjoy the landscapes along the way, those moments of leisure and delicacies.
It’s important to know how to remain calm. I have it clear that your brain is in command. The brain governs everything that’s inside your body. From your eyes gazing from one site to the other, to the effort your muscles make to keep you moving, and the changes in your endocrine system, which can make you stand still – or move forward! Do you remember how many times have you thought about your work having a sense at all?How many times have you felt frustrated about how things went? Because, personally, I’ve thought a couple of times about it…
It’s strange, but during my own career, I’ve played many different roles when it comes to how I felt. I’ve been the one whose legs just spinned easily and enjoyed every single pedal stroke, deciding to battle hard at every race – and staying with the top contenders at all times! I’ve also been the one who fought and lacked some energy to stayed there, yet had offered the best she could in that moment. There was also that one who wasn’t able to get up on her feet, one who felt unsurmountable pain by simply sitting on the saddle. The one who wanted to ‘bite’ that phantom called fear, or the one who felt too scared to face its voice. All of those roles – were “me”. You’ve got to accept yourself: you “are” something, even if you don’t find yourself as you wanted to at some point. The most important thing, as I try to say, is not to get lost, even if you lose sight of the path you wanted to follow. You must remember what you’ve been, or what you want to be, and have the ambition and self-esteem to aim at improving yourself.
The reasons why we don’t shine at certain times – for me, those are just excuses. Even if they might seem just logical for the rest, I’m not one who likes to find a way to make up for things. Because things are just like that. Rather than worrying about it, let’s ‘unworry’ and find a way forward! It has no use to feel sorry about the past. There will be crashes, blows, diseases, injuries, and even bigger accidents. You must remember that you’re neither as fast as how you go when you’re downhill, nor as slow as you go uphill. You’ve got to adapt yourself to different situations, and just keep the pace.
The ‘magic wand’ here is not called ‘luck’: it’s called ‘will’. You nust seek for ‘luck’ to be nice to you, and to achieve that, you’ve got to work hard for circumstances to align your way. Face the work ahead with the conviction you’re doing things right, and always with a smile, is key for you to succeed.
Seek for that intrinsic motivation. Don’t let external factors distract you out of the way. Don’t seek for the others’ admiration, for a reward. There must be something inside of you which drives your will! Whether it’s the feel of freedom that you get when you’re alive, when you move your muscles, when adrenaline burns inside your body. The esctasy when you’re shattered. The excitement that made all about what you do start. The emotions that make every bit of your inner body shake…
In every scope of your life, propel yourselve, gain some momentum and carry on, even if you’ve got try many times, even it it doesn’t go as you wanted to. Believe me: you learn and enjoy with everything. The bumps of the road, the bad moments in life, touch springs which also need to rebound and be felt. Dealing with those bad feelings make every part of yourself feel connected, and give full sense to your life.
If you’ve not surrendered, there’s one day when you shine back, and that day is the full realization of yourself. You feel full.
Because of all this, blue is the colour that represents us, the one that keeps us together as a team. It’s the sky we look towards, building imaginary castles or supporting each other to get the best of every single member. The infinity is the loop we always ride on, because there’s no limit to what you can achieve. Let’s dream!
— Follow Sheyla Gutiérrez at her social media profiles on Instagram, Twitter and Strava.