Paul Seixas, Jarno Widar and Albert Withen Philipsen: the peloton is currently overflowing with young super-talents. Riders who are already making headlines at a very young age and are edging ever closer to the WorldTour. But according to experts, an even bigger talent is emerging \u2014 one who is even younger and possibly even better than Seixas. His name is Benjamin Noval.<\/p>\n
The surname Noval is no coincidence. Benjamin is the son of former professional rider Benjam\u00edn Noval, who served as a trusted domestique to Alberto Contador between 2007 and 2013. And it appears that the cycling DNA has been passed on in full.<\/p>\n
At just 17 years old, Noval is already regarded as one of the biggest talents of his generation. He has impressed in major junior races, but what truly sets him apart is his ability to excel across multiple disciplines. Noval does not limit himself to road racing alone. He also competes in mountain biking and cyclo-cross \u2014 and at an exceptionally high level. In all three disciplines, he is among the very best riders in the world for his age group.<\/p>\n
Continue reading below the photo!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Noval at INEOS in 2027: ‘Will be challenging’That rare combination of versatility and raw talent has made Noval one of the most sought-after juniors in the sport. Several top teams were keen to secure his future, but it was ultimately INEOS Grenadiers<\/a> who won the race for his signature<\/a>.But he has already had a taste of the future. He was present at the training camp. \u201cIt was an incredible experience,\u201d he tells Marca<\/a>. \u201cIt was very important to get to know the team with a view to next year. I think it helped me in the races I rode afterwards; it gave me a boost.\u201dHe will soon be thrown in at the deep end. \u201cInitially, as agreed, I will be registered with the first team,\u201d he explains to AS<\/a>. \u201cI think it’s important to get used to the competition, find a good rhythm, and lay a solid foundation, which is what we’ve been working on in recent years. Next year will be challenging, different, and full of new experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n Read on below the photos!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Noval willing to sacrifice cyclo-cross for road racing<\/p>\n Which discipline does the Spaniard prefer? \u201cI’m better at road cycling; you don’t have to take as many corners and it’s less about pure strength.\u201d He considers cyclocross to be his \u201cworst\u201d discipline. \u2018I still have a lot to improve, especially technically, but I think the effort is the same as on the road, and my body is the same, so now it’s about improving over the next few years.\u2019<\/p>\n Noval became Spanish junior cyclo-cross champion this year and finished on the podium twice in major races in his age category. But he may well decide to give up cyclo-cross altogether. \u201cMaybe next year I’ll have to sacrifice some cyclo-cross to build up my rhythm and endurance for road cycling and long distances. But a race or two is always good and useful.\u201d<\/p>\n Read on below the video!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Contador as idol: ‘Hope I can climb a little faster’<\/p>\n Everything is focused on success on the road. The 17-year-old top talent already knows which races he hopes to shine in. The Grand Tours are a goal, and he hopes to stand on the top step of the podium one day. \u2018That would be more than amazing. These are huge goals, and at the moment I see them as practically impossible, but I have to keep working and think about them every morning to stay motivated.\u2019<\/p>\n Although he describes Mathieu van der Poel as \u201cunique,\u201d the world cyclo-cross champion is not his idol. That honor goes to Contador, whom he knows well through his father. \u201cI know almost all of his races and I definitely consider him a role model. I hope I can climb as well as he does, or even a little faster.\u201d One thing is certain: Contador was not as good as Noval junior when he was 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paul Seixas, Jarno Widar and Albert Withen Philipsen: the peloton is currently overflowing with young super-talents. Riders who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,66980,85],"class_list":["post-421721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-ineos-grenadiers","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}