Being an Olympic champion goes beyond having the perfect physique for the sport to which you have dedicated your life. It is mentality, effort and perseverance. A medalist cannot be defined by his image, this is the result of his perseverance and emotional maturity. Being an elite athlete is being focused 24 hours a day, setting a goal and going for it without qualms. Cupra did the same when it split from Seat to become a premium and performance firm, despite the doubts of many. On this motivational aspect, Cupra talks with the canoeist Saúl Craviotto , gold medal in Beijing 2008, silver in London 2012, gold and bronze in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and silver in the last Olympics, and Melvyn Richardson, gold in handball in the recent Games from Tokyo. Two of its most representative ambassadors, who feel connected to Cupra’s values and its avant-garde spirit.
Participating in the Olympic Games is the dream of any athlete. For Richardson it was also “a magical experience” in reference to his time at the Tokyo Olympics . Getting there has not been easy for either of the two ambassadors of the Martorell firm, who explain their day-to-day life aboard a car like the Cupra Formentor VZ5. The most performing of the Formentor family leaves no one indifferent, not even our Olympians, used to playing medals for just a blink of an eye. “From first to last in an Olympic final there are only a few tenths of a second. Speed, in my sport, makes the difference between being successful and not being successful, ”said Craviotto. The objective in this type of modality is to be the fastest, hence for Saúl the “CUPRA Formentor VZ5 responds perfectly”.
A flag ambassador
Saúl Craviotto, along with Mireia Belmonte , were the standard bearers at the last Tokyo Olympics. Despite the risks derived from covid-19, our athletes headed to the continent of the rising sun to show that Spain is the cradle of great idols. Craviotto is the perfect ambassador for Cupra, not only because of his successes on the canoe. She has also managed to make the public fall in love with her hard-working and close side, forgetting for a few moments the impact that her professional life has on her day-to-day life. A routine marked, these days, by a very particular garage companion: the Formentor VZ5 .
This SUV with coupés airs has nothing to envy the most recognized premium firms, even less so with the block of five cylinders and 390 CV that it introduces under the hood. This block, known for its presence in the Audi RS Q3, allows it to reach 0 to 100 km / h in 4.2 seconds and mark a top speed of 250 km / h . A power that, in Richardson’s case “is synonymous with explosiveness.”
The precision an Olympian requires
After getting behind the wheel of the VZ5, we were surprised by its cornering, its stability and the possibility of driving it to almost supercar levels. The precision of its traction systems make it an animal of the asphalt, but you can also enter the off-road world with it . This concept is essential for our athletes who, as Craviotto comments: “We needed maximum synchronization between the four canoeists and we succeeded. It was the regatta dreamed of! ”. Faults at the wheel, and more so at that rate, are not allowed, nor in an Olympics: “That is why we always train that rigorous execution . A small failure at the start, a bad stroke entry, can make you miss a final ”.
A perfection that both seek in their cars, in the feel of the steering wheel, the response of the accelerator and its grip in curves , among many other dynamic aspects. A behavior that the VZ5 far exceeds, at the height of an elite athlete. ” Driving a VZ5 is spectacular, I feel like I find myself , because we both have sportsmanship in our DNA,” says Craviotto. “It is difficult to express, you have to live it to understand it,” he concludes.
