Samuel Novak is at his home in Slovakia, where he is training in preparation for next week's national championshipsThese days he's been out on his time trial bike, and a mechanical problem delays our phone call by a quarter of an hour. He speaks fluent English, has a charming voice, and is always ready with a joke. A spirit that perfectly reflects his young age.
Novak's peculiarity is that he runs in Italy, in Borgo Molino Vigna Fiorita, has been doing very well lately. It comes from the victory of the Montes Cup (photors.it at the top), on Liberation Day, to which he added fourth place at the Arno GP.
The first victory of 2023
"The Montes Cup," Novak says, "was my first win of the season. I wasn't expecting it, especially since I was coming off a somewhat difficult period. Three days before I had run the Eroica Juniores and it hadn't gone well.I was sick for most of the week. The goal at the Montes Cup was to survive, I tried my best and instead I got the victory».
You played well, you and Cettolin were in front.
Yes, we played the classic numerical superiority situation and we managed to win. He attacked first Cettolin, then once I got going again I took off, I was a bit long but I managed to hold off the other riders as they came back.
A nice way to recover from a so-so period, huh?
Absolutely, from that moment on I felt better and better. I also did very well at the Arno GP, I would say that I started to believe in myself more and more.
The Montes Cup was an international race, with many strong youngsters at the start…
True, the level was really high, but having also raced many times with the national team, I'm used to it. In 2022 I competed in five Nations Cup stages and two international races wearing my country's jersey: the Giro della Lunigiana and a race in Austria.
Now you're preparing for the national championships. Will you be aiming for the double for the time trial title?
I'll try – he says with a big laugh – it won't be easy, I haven't been able to take the best care of my preparation in this discipline. We'll see what I can do these days that separate me from the test.
What kind of rider do you think you are?
It's hard to say, I can become a good climber, but I'm good at time trials and I also win some tight sprintsIt's too early to say, I'm not sure where to specialize, for example, I've only been doing time trials for a short while.
You're good there too, what kind of routes do you like?
Tough – he says with a laugh – I like routes where you have to produce maximum effort over fairly long periods.
What are your goals after the national championships?
I will do some races with the team in Italy and then there are a couple of Nations Cup stages that I would like to winOne in particular in the month of July.
This is your second year with Borgo Molino, how are you finding it?
Well, the guys are very kind and friendly. It's a really strong team, sometimes even too much – he says jokingly – they help me a lot and we make ourselves available to each other.
You've already had many international experiences, including the World Cup in Australia. What was that experience like?
Running to the other side of the world was crazy. I loved it so much, Before the race I wasn't feeling very well but I still managed to get into the second groupA 40th place that didn't make me look bad, but this year I'm aiming to improve.
Next year you'll be under 23, do you already have any contacts?
Yup, I have a manager who is working on finding the best optionThe only thing I can say is that it will probably be a development team for a WorldTour team.
Last question: you're Slovakian, like Sagan, is he your favorite rider?
As any self-respecting Slovak I can say that Peter holds a place in my heart. But if I have to be honest my prototype of a rider is ethan hayter: Modern, complete, he's an all-round rider. I see myself in him in a certain sense.
