Before we start the interview in logical order, it’s probably best if we address the obvious first. How are you recuperating from the fracture that you sustained in San Luis?

You know, it’s coming along and healing really fast. I’m especially happy right now, because I’m already back to riding a bike.

Wow, that was fast. How long have you been back on the bike?

I’ve been training on the bike for a week now, going easy, but I’m now increasing the kilometers day by day.

Has the crash changed your calendar at all, as far as racing or even when you travel to Europe?

It hasn’t at all. I’m going to Europe on Februrary 15th, and that hasn’t changed. I know my first race will in France, but I leave it up to the team to make those decisions [Fernando is currently scheduled to compete in the Haut Var and Tour Cycliste International La Provence upon arriving].

Let’s talk about how you first became involved in cycling. It’s interesting to me that the sport so permeates your entire family...your dad runs a cycling academy, your sister races on the track, and yet you took up speed skating first before racing on the track or the road. Why?

It was just because my sister decided to take up speed skating, and I wanted to follow her, and compete and train along with her. But I always had my eyes on the bike, I always wanted to ride. The moment that my parents got me my first real bike, I was hooked. I started taking it seriously, and training right away. From there, it became my life, and something I took up as a profession.