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After winning his fourteenth outdoor trial world title, the Repsol Honda Team rider answers a 28-question questionnaire, matching the number of World Championships that he has won over the course of his career to date.
What toys does the 28 times Trial World Champion have in his garage?
“Obviously my favourite toy is my trial bike, and then we have the bicycles. We have only one here because we have the rollers upstairs. Obviously there are skis and snowboards too.”
What is the first thing you do when you get home from a Grand Prix?
“Like every athlete and rider, I want to disconnect. I try to go for a ride in the mountains with Esther, tell her how the weekend went, and also go out with the dogs. It is a way of disconnecting.”
Do people usually recognise you? Do they stop you on the street?
“Sometimes. It happens more and more, with us having won so many titles. In the end, Trial is a minority sport where luckily people recognise what you are doing without actually bothering you -and I think that is the positive part of this sport.”
How many trophies do you think you have?
“Many. I have been competing for many years and here we have those from X-Trial, with the most recent one from this World Championship. Here at the entrance we have the latest ones that we have achieved in recent years, and others are scattered around in museums. I think there are most of the trophies at Honda and at my parents’ house.”
Do you ever plan to have a museum?
“I would like to, but that when my career is over. Here we have the entrance of the house with some special trophies. This is the one from the Naturlandia race, the first year I was here. It was a very tough race that I have very good memories of.”
What’s your favourite place in the house?
“My favourite place is the living room. It is where I disconnect the most, the place where I spend the most hours. I like being here because when you come home from travelling you appreciate having a place where you can disconnect and relax.”
What’s your favourite film?
“My favourite film is ‘300.’ It is a film that gives me a lot of energy, and one that I have watched many times.”
What was the last book that you read?
“I’m not much of a reader. I did read Rafa Nadal’s biography, however. I think he is an athlete with whom I have many things in common, and I like to see how he works and what kind of mentality he has.”
What superpower would you like to have?
“After these last few years, the power not to get injured would be what I would like the most; being able to try everything without breaking anything.”
Is this the famous terrace that appeared in your lockdown videos?
“Yes. It is a terrace that we have enjoyed much more than I ever imagined, because in lockdown I used it a lot. I never would have imagined that I could train here. Thanks to the fact that the neighbours didn’t give me any problems, I was able to enjoy some time on my bike.”
Which celebrity would you like to invite here for coffee?
“I would like to have Will Smith over. He is a famous person who seems very nice, very funny and somebody whom I would like to meet.”
With which historical figure would you like to spend a day?
“Perhaps I’d say Neil Armstrong, to ask if he really went to the moon or if it was faked.”
Which sportsman do you look up to?
“Leo Messi. He is an incredible athlete, I am a big Barça fan, and with the history he is making, he is a sportsman that I love.”
Which material possession, other than your motorcycle, could you not do without in your life?
“I would say my bicycle. It is the possession I spend the most hours with apart from my motorcycle and it is an incredible complement to my training.”
What is your specialty in the kitchen?
“I quite like cooking. I really like making paella. I found it really hard, but I have ended up learning. I really enjoy making them with Esther when we hang out and disconnect. Now I’m starting to get a little better and we enjoy it a lot. I have a kitchen that helps with that. Besides that, I make fideuás and many other things, but I struggle a little more with elaborate dishes.”
What is an essential in your pantry?
“As an athlete, you have to have carbohydrates. I really like pasta: it’s something very fast, it gives you a lot of energy and I eat it almost daily.”
Can you show us your fridge? What is something that you shouldn’t consume as an elite athlete, but that you always have in the fridge?
“I have some beers for when I unwind after the races. I’m not a big drinker, but I always have some around because they go down well.”
Are you a tidy person at home?
“Yes. Esther is tidier than me, but I try to help as much as I can and I focus more on not getting things dirty and taking care of things.”
Which subject were you best at in school?
“School was tough, and my mother and my sister are teachers. Perhaps Physical Education was the one I was best at.”
Where do you train and how many hours a day do you spend in the gym?
“As I get older, I do a little more gym work, especially for injury prevention. Over the years I have had to adapt, as at first I did very little of it. I have a fairly simple gym room, with the four things I use the most: I do a lot of stretching. As I said I have had a lot of injuries in recent years, so I try to do a post-training recovery session that works very well for me, then I do cardio with rollers and my bikes. Esther is also a cycling fan, and that helps me to do almost an hour a day on the roller.”
Are you more of a mountain biker or road cyclist?
“Mountain bikes. I enjoy it more because there is always the reward that when you get to the top you enjoy the descent, which is very technical.”
What music do you listen to before a competition?
“I really like music, but before an event I have my rituals and superstitions and I don’t listen to music.”
Where is a place that you would love to get lost in?
“I love mountains for walking and disconnecting. I would never have imagined it, but more and more I like to disconnect in the mountains.”
What is an obsession of yours?
“My sport and my motorcycle. I am a big perfectionist. It’s what I think about the most and spend the most hours of the day doing.”
Which three adjectives define you?
“I am calm, although there are people who can’t believe that. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to motorcycles, and then I’m a very aggressive rider who leaves everything on the track.”
Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?
“That’s tough, I’m sure to be in motorsport. I love what I do, I really enjoy it and I would love to continue helping young riders so that they can achieve what I have achieved and enjoyed.”
Let’s go back ten years. What advice would you give to the Toni Bou of 2010?
“I’d tell him to enjoy things and to watch out for injuries, which has been what has hurt me the most. Luckily they haven’t been big things. I have been a very lucky rider and have won many titles.”
What would you like to say to your fans about 2021?
“It has been a very strange year and I have missed them so much. I would love for 2021 to be a normal year and to see each other at the races, so we’ll see what happens.”
