Gómez Noya: "Alister Brownlee is the man to beat"
The Spanish triathlete Javier Gómez Noya has referred to the rivals that he will find in the Madrid Triathlon, the third test of the Dextro Energy-Triathlon World Championship, and has made it clear that the British Alister Brownlee, his great rival in the fight for the World Cup, "is the man to beat" in the Madrid event.
“For me the strongest triathlete in the world right now is Alister Brownlee, he is a reference and I think he is the man to beat. If he has a good race it will be difficult because I have already suffered it on many occasions although I am also aware that he can win because I have also done it. Then there is a bunch of about ten or twelve with options to win, there are very good people who will make things very difficult", the Galician sentenced in statements to Europa Press.
Likewise, Gómez Noya wanted to show that his objective in this event is to "try to win" and "defend" his leadership in the World Cup. “This is the second test after winning in Sydney, so I am looking forward to this test, especially being the leader. I have to defend that lead and we are going to go out and try to win. There are very important rivals, very good people, but I am confident in my chances and I have to try to be as far forward as possible”, he explained.
Regarding his fourth place last year in this same race, the man from Ferrol stressed that he will try to "improve" that position, although on the other hand he made it clear that he does not blame himself "absolutely nothing" for his performance last season.
“Fourth is a good place overall, obviously I can't win every race. Last year I had a difficult winter with injuries, I arrived here and finished fourth for which I don't blame myself. Yes, I blame myself when I make tactical errors in races and I can't win, but last year I was where I had to be and three riders were better than me. I couldn't do much more, I hope this year to improve that fourth place because I have trained for it”, indicated the Spaniard.
Regarding the route in Madrid, the triathlete from El Ferrol assured that the circuit "invites the attack". “I like the route in general because if you have a good day you can get a lot out of it since the others are going to have a bad time. But if you have a bad day you can also sink ”, he pointed out.
“You have to try to dose, especially on the bike and you have to be attentive to all the movements because the circuit invites you to attack because of the hill that you have to pass eight times, so I suppose there will be a war from the beginning” he added.
Facing the next London 2012 Olympic Games, the Spanish triathlete was confident that he could "improve" his fourth place in Beijing 2008. "I want to improve it. So far I have only had one opportunity in my life to compete in the Olympic Games and it was not my best day by far. I was fighting for the medals until the end, but I didn't get them and hopefully I can surpass that position in London and be in the medals”, he stated.
Finally, Gómez Noya assessed the possible role of another Spanish triathlete, the also Galician Iván Raña. “I think he is improving after his year in cycling and he is at a pretty good level, he is a man with incredible experience with a record that says it all. He knows what it is to win an important race so I believe and I hope that he will be fine here in Madrid and that he will improve as the races go by”, concluded the Spanish champion.
Source: europapress.es
