We were able to catch up with Benito Ros following his stellar performance in the second round of the Spanish Championship in Ledesma (Salamance), organised by the Zonascharras club. The current World Champion was happy to talk to us and gave us some interesting answers:
Interview with Benito Ros
1.- Hi Benito, congratulations on your second victory! What does this mean for you?
Benito: Well, as I told you at the first round, it’s a great way top start the year (which has only just begun – the best is yet to come…) and I’m very happy to have won the second round and to be achieving my goals. But as always, things could always be better!
2.- You showed some tremendous skill today, can you tell us about your performance?
Benito: I don’t think I did anything incredible today, I wouldn’t say that I managed anything that I didn’t think I could do at the beginning of the day. Like in Lorca, I started well from the first section. Most people are a bit ‘stiff’ at the start of the day and make a few mistakes. I managed to maintain that level of riding throughout the day; I didn’t have as much trouble maintaining my level as I did in Lorca, the sections were a bit shorter and less tiring.
3.- You’ve already got quite a lead over your main rival Dani Comas, can we start talking about the best year of your career in terms of your riding? Can you tell us a bit about your training etc.?
Benito: I’m not sure that I rode loads better than Dani this time. I had a good ride and Dani made a few mistakes that cost him the trial. There were very few points dropped in this trial so each mistake cost more than it would have done in Lorca, for example. So I don’t think I can relax just yet, there’s still a lot to play for. Is this my best year? Well, this winter I haven’t had any problems with injuries so I was able to train hard. If you add that to the experience that I’ve gained over the years and the motivation that I’ve have to stay at the top since 2003, when I won my first World round, you could say that it is, I suppose. As for my training, that’s a secret… Just kidding! I don’t have any particular training regime, all I’d say is that you don’t just have to concentrate in competition, but also in your training. You have to try to give it your all and to understand where you need to improve. It’s easy to write all this down, but perhaps the most difficult thing is to stay motivated and to keep having fun on your bike. Another difficult thing for this sport in particular, as most trials riders will know, is that there aren’t many people who do it, which means that there aren’t many teams, coaches etc. That’s why I think that riders who are at the top of this sport deserve more respect because they’ve had to do it largely on their own. How often do I train? That depends on a lot more things than I’d like it to; I’ve got a lot more than just training to do. However, I reckon I fit in about two hours a day six days a week, five if there’s a competition that week. It’s not a lot time-wise, but I always try to make sure that the quality is high!
4.- What did you think of the sections (difficulty, organisation etc.)? We’re lucky that they dried out or it would have been a very difficult trial wouldn’t it?
Benito: After the trial, and knowing the weather that we had, I’d say that they were a bit shirt and a bit easy. I’m a bit masochistic and prefer harder trials. But seeing as the weather was changing quickly and most people expected the trial to be rainy (and the rocks at Ledesma are really slippery when they’re wet) I’d say that the level was perfect. Big thanks to the organisers and their reactivity; when they thought it was going to be wet they changed the sections and then when it dried out they quickly changed them back.
5.- What do you think of the other riders?
Benito: All of the Elite riders are worth talking about, but especially el Musti [Abel Mustieles] because he’s now a regular on the podium and can be considered a fully fledged Elite rider. Javi’s another top rider, he rode really well and just missed out on the podium. Ioni is riding well in his first year in Elite, really giving it his all. Comas, who everyone is watching closely, deserves as much credit as I do, he’s got a lot of years of experience at the highest and I know how valuable that is. It’s largely thanks to him that I’m here too, he’s really forced me to push myself. He’s always been my biggest rival – it might interest you to know that we started riding at the same time and that our first competition was a Spanish Championship, although I can’t remember how old we were. Not to forget Gerardo, his passion and commitment are something else, he really battles with the sections!
6.- Thanks for talking to us again and all the best for the rest of the season!
Benito: No problema. Thank you for the coverage you give to the sport, allowing the fans to follow it as closely as they do now, with potos, videos and proper reports rather than just the results.
Photos from Ledesma
Photos:
Nico Bahro
Alvaro Lopez
Willi
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