\nA World Championships that began as \u201cjust another race\u201d<\/p>\n
The Asturian approached the road race with the same mindset as any other event. His intention was to compete, try to win and follow his usual plan, without thinking too much about the historic significance of what was at stake.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just thought of it as another race and tried to win, as always,\u201d he recalls. That perspective changed when he crossed the finish line: \u201cWhen you reach the finish and realise you\u2019ve won a World Championships, it\u2019s something different, not just in how you see it yourself, but in how other people see it too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reaction to his double soon followed. Messages arrived from family and friends, as well as prominent figures in cycling. \u201cAbove all, those from my family and from some big names in cycling, such as Alberto Contador. People from INEOS have congratulated me too,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Rather than feeling pressure or being overwhelmed by the achievement, Noval is delighted to have joined the small group of riders who have won both junior world titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than being overwhelming, it\u2019s something that makes me happy, being one of the few to have done the double as a junior. As I said, I want to take it all in as best I can and enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spontaneous celebration that got people talking<\/p>\n
As he celebrated his road race victory, Noval made a gesture he had not planned beforehand. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t planned at all. It just came to me in the moment, and I don\u2019t think it turned out too badly,\u201d he explains with a laugh.<\/p>\n
That spontaneity fits with how the rider describes his personality. Despite his success, he says he tries to keep his feet on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m quite a calm and humble person. I try to deal with everything as well as I can, even the bad things. The good things are usually pretty easy to take anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nature and animals help him switch off<\/p>\n
Away from the bike, Noval finds that spending time in nature is one of his main ways to unwind. Cycling leaves little room for other interests, he admits, but when he has free time, he tries to get away from competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cCycling doesn\u2019t leave me much time for the hobbies I enjoy most. When I\u2019m resting, I try to go for plenty of walks in the hills and spend time with animals. I try to switch off from everything outside cycling.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a simple routine that helps him calmly handle the attention his results have generated.<\/p>\n
The double has not changed his outlook<\/p>\n
Winning two world titles at the same championships can send expectations soaring, but Noval does not want his junior success to become a burden for the future. For him, the result primarily brings reassurance and confirms that hard work can take him a long way.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than confidence, it gives you a bit of reassurance that you need to work well and that you can achieve it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The rider also knows that stepping up to the professional ranks means entering a completely different environment. \u201cIt\u2019s true that there are riders at professional level who are a long way above me,\u201d he admits. But he still believes he can go far: \u201cIf I\u2019ve achieved this, I think I can do it with time. Taking it calmly, little by little.\u201d<\/p>\n
No rush to tackle the biggest races<\/p>\n
International success also opens the door to thoughts of particular races on the professional calendar, especially those with a special significance in Spain. Noval, however, is avoiding firm plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not thinking about that at all. Of course, I\u2019d like to ride the big races and those here in Spain. We have to take things calmly, see how the year starts and how I adapt to the distances, see what my form is like, and then decide which races I do and how we approach them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The priority will therefore be to adapt well and see how his body responds to the demands of a higher category before deciding his schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I need to improve everything\u201d<\/p>\n
Noval does not see his world championship double as a sign that he has reached his sporting ceiling. On the contrary, he believes there is still considerable room for improvement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I need to improve everything. In cycling now, you can\u2019t neglect anything, because one small mistake or problem can cost you time. Above all, I need to improve my physical condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
That self-criticism forms part of a long-term outlook in which daily work must take precedence over individual results.<\/p>\n
Pogacar as the benchmark for the perfect rider<\/p>\n
When imagining the perfect cyclist, Noval points to the sport\u2019s dominant rider, Tadej Pogacar. Even so, he believes it is impossible to find every quality in a single rider.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Pogacar is dominating at the moment, and he would be the perfect rider. But to get the perfect rider, you\u2019d have to combine three riders who each do things well, and that would be the perfect cyclist.\u201d<\/p>\n
His conclusion also reflects his own philosophy: there is always room to improve. \u201cYou\u2019re never perfect, because there\u2019s always someone who does something better than you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The European Championships are next<\/p>\n
Before taking a break at the end of an intense season, Noval has one more major opportunity to add to his medal collection. The European Championships are his next target.<\/p>\n
After winning both the time trial and the road race in Montreal, the challenge will be to carry that form into another championships while sticking to the approach that has brought him this far: calmness, hard work and ambition. \u201cTo adapt to everything as quickly as possible and race as aggressively as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A World Championships that began as \u201cjust another race\u201d The Asturian approached the road race with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":915133,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[313853,49,48,635,252324,82,30127],"class_list":["post-915132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-benjamin-noval-jr","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-netcompany-ineos","tag-sports","tag-world-championships"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=915132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/915133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=915132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=915132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=915132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}