At the tender age of 16, Benjamín Noval signed a WorldTour contract not on his results, but on his promise. In Montreal on Thursday, the 17-year-old fired a warning shot, proclaiming himself as Spain's talent of the future, cocking an imaginary pistol and taking the shot as he won the UCI Road World Championships junior men's road race.
The son of a former Alberto Contador teammate of the same name, Noval was of course referencing the famous 'el pistolero' salute. Last year, when Ineos signed him, they proclaimed him to be "one of the sport's most exciting young riders and future stars" upon signing with Netcompany Ineos in 2025, and he was said to have "natural racing instincts, climbing strength, tactical intelligence and maturity".
Noval wasn't able to completely put those talents on display at the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali last year, when he crashed as he was about to chase down lone leader Harry Hudson (Great Britain), having hit the barriers as he checked the situation behind.
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This year, Noval more than made up for his mistake, claiming both the junior men's time trial and road race world titles in Montreal.
The 17-year-old Spaniard took the race by the scruff of its neck and showed total control as he first jumped out of the peloton with 45km to go, spent more than a lap chasing down the leaders and then attacking on the penultimate lap, soloing to victory. There was no looking back this time.
"In the final lap I remembered this moment," Noval said when asked about his crash in Rwanda. "I only looked to the front, not looking to the back, and only thinking of going to the finish and being able to win, and not thinking more about Kigali. Nothing about that this year, because I also never saw the final of that race on TV, and I don't want to remember it."
What he will remember is a flawless performance, both from himself and his teammates, who executed Spain's plan with perfection.
"We had only one plan: to relax in the first three laps, and after these laps, attack - one or another teammate - and make the race really hard," Noval said. Teammates Luca and Aitor Martinez took turns putting in accelerations, helping to wear down the peloton on a brutally tough course, and Noval chose the perfect moment to leap away.
"When I saw that I was in the front, I saw that it was a good moment to relax, and then I saw that I could make a really good attack and go full gas until the finish."
As he crossed the line with 42 seconds to spare on second-placed Simon Defrance (France), Noval wound the clock back with the signature victory salute made famous by Contador.
"He raced with my father and is a really good friend, and I think that it's the best celebration for first place," Noval explained.
The young Spaniard was finally overwhelmed by emotion after realising what he had done, being able to enjoy a moment quite different to the one he had after claiming the individual time trial on Monday.
"When I finished the TT, I didn't realise that I won. The next day, I thought, 'Yes, I won, but I have another race the next day.' I tried to enjoy it with the team, but I also thought that I could win today," he said.
"It's incredible because I prepared for these two races all year. In the last months, I was only training and focusing on these two days, and I think that it's incredible to win today. Now, I'll go enjoy with the family and do a really good celebration in the hotel."
Once the celebrations are done, Noval's life is about to get more serious as he is signed to Netcompany Ineos for 2027 and 2028. Whether or not he will do a full season in the WorldTour, or take a mixed approach with under-23 and high-level races remains to be seen.
"I don't know, but at first I think that I'm going to the WorldTour, but we'll see what they want to do and where is the best place for me."
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