Bengaluru, July 9: Barcelona defender Gerard Pique embraced the city's campaign to get people cycling again for the good of the environment in the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic era by riding his bike to his side's derby match with Espanyol.
Pique has ridden an electric bike to training on various occasions, took onlookers by surprise as he raced down the ramp into the Camp Nou car park on a bike wearing a baseball cap, shorts and t-shirt.
Barcelona came out triumphant in what was literally a must-win game for the Catalan giants, thanks to Luis Suarez's 56th minute goal while also condemning their city rivals to relegation.
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The win also helped Barcelona close the gap with arch-rivals Real Madrid, who though have a game in against Alaves in the weekend.
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Pique, who is married to Colombia's celebrated pop star Shakira, came through the La Masia academy at Barcelona, but it was not until he moved to Manchester United and Real Zaragoza that he made his name as a future star of the game.
El plaer va ser nostre! És bestial tot el projecte social que hi ha darrere. Moltes felicitats, de veritat! https://t.co/LyteCDJg1u
— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) July 6, 2020
But his great success has come back at his childhood club, where he has won eight La Liga titles, six Copa del Reys and three UEFA Champions Leagues since being brought back by Pep Guardiola in 2008.
Just like many of other La Liga players, Pique is very active on the social media and he recently shared highlights of Barcelona's 6-2 El Clasico win from 2009 on his Twitter handle.
Pique relives El Clasico on Twitter
Barcelona's local government has stepped up its commitment to making the city safe for cycling in a bid to limit the use of public transport due to the COVID-19 pandemic and recently pledged to create an extra 21 kilometres of cycle lanes.
In a glittering career, Pique has donned over 100 caps for Spain and was part of La Roja teams that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup 2010 and 2012 UEFA Euro Cup.
(With inputs from Agencies)