Benjamín Noval, remember the name: Ineos's teen is a double world champ | OneFootball

Benjamín Noval is 17 years old and has two rainbow jerseys to pack in his suitcase. On Tuesday, he won the junior World Championship time trial in Montreal; on Thursday, he added the road race. No Spaniard had ever achieved that double in the same edition. The kid is starting to outgrow the “promising talent” label.

Ineos had a head start. They announced his signing in June 2025, when he was 16 years old and racing for the MMR Cycling Academy, with the plan for him to join in 2027. While other teenagers need permission to go on school trips, Noval already had his move up to the WorldTour lined up. His victories in the Besaya and the GP F.W.R. Baron were clear signs.

A crash he never wanted to watch again

Between that contract and these gold medals came a much more painful blow. At the 2025 World Championships in Kigali, Noval looked back while chasing the leader, hit the barriers and ended up on the ground. It was the kind of heartbreak that stays with you: he has said he did not even want to watch that finish on television.

In Montreal, he remembered the crash during the final lap and focused on looking ahead. He also did the math: while two French riders were chasing him, he managed his effort; when he realized only one was left, he understood it would be harder for him to catch him. “I never lost heart,” he explained. The tactical intelligence Ineos had highlighted already had a real-life example.

The “Pistolero” came from home

After 134 kilometers and 2,690 meters of climbing, he crossed the finish line 42 seconds ahead of Simon Defrance and brought back Alberto Contador’s imaginary pistol-shot celebration. His father, former cyclist Benjamín Noval, was Contador’s teammate and is his friend. The gesture had family history behind it, long before it became social media material.

After winning the time trial, he had barely had time to take it in: he still had another race left. With the second gold safely secured, he said it was time to celebrate with his family and the team at the hotel. The professional calendar will come in 2027. That night, he could get off the bike without calculating how to win the next one.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.