Barcelona“Are you coming with the bike?” Everyone asks when you talk to them about Toni Bou (Piera, 1986). A man perched on two wheels (or one), this is the mental image we all have of the driver who this Sunday has added his thirtieth World Championship. His sporting career seems to have no limits. He is aware that while he still has a lot of titles to win and milestones to achieve, there will be a time when he will have to say enough.
You are 35 years old and you have just lifted your thirtieth World Cup. Could you have imagined it when you started?
– It is impressive and at the same time real. It sounds very unreal to think that I have won 30 titles and am only 35 years old. It’s actually been 15 years in a row since I was 20 years old. It’s amazing, too. It is a dream come true.
How do you keep winning for 15 years?
– It’s all about the march [riu]. If I was prepared or starting to do it now with all the experience I have, I might not get out. It is to have lived the moment, and everything has gone perfectly. I was surrounded by people who had to surround me and I had all the factors in my favor. I’ve even been lucky with the injuries, as they’ve always been at times when I had a month to recover. We were lucky because otherwise it would be impossible to do it for fifteen years.
Is an athlete’s environment key to their career?
– Totally. The family has always stood by me. It is what an athlete really needs to have the necessary safety and regularity. I, from the age of twenty until now, have grown a lot, but in my environment I have always had the peace of mind that made me mature when I was young to get the titles and have my head in place.
How has that 20-year-old Toni changed?
– I haven’t changed much! I have matured by age, like normal people. Toni is still the same with the same bunch of friends. I really enjoy being with mine, having fun, having fun. That has not changed. I’ve always been like that.
The only thing that has changed is that you now have 30 world titles at home?
– And a lot of experience. I’ve always been the same and it hasn’t changed me at all, either in the face of people or with myself, whether to win or not to win.
How come you never run out of hunger to win after so many titles?
– The only secret is that I really like what I do, that I enjoy it. If not, it would be impossible. If you didn’t do it to win, you would do it too. If he did it to be second, third or fourth, he sure would too. And my great luck is being able to dedicate myself to what I like best. And I’ve been lucky enough to be the best at this sport. When you do what you like best, there are obviously nerves and complicated situations, but you always end up imposing what is most positive.
On this path to the thirtieth title, have you considered changing?
– Something strange is happening to me. I really like motocross, I like football … But when I practice them for two weeks in a row because I have them free, I end up getting tired of them. On the other hand, in this sport, I don’t know if it’s because I’ve reached a very high level, I don’t get tired of it. I always have the motivation to improve and feel totally competitive. The fact that I have reached this level makes me not tired.
The only secret is that I really like what I do, that I enjoy it. If not, it would be impossible. If you didn’t do it to win, you would do it too. If I did it to be second, third or fourth, I’m sure I would too ”
You have been on the team for many years. They are your second family.
– Being away from family is hard, but I’m lucky that I’m also very familiar with the team. It’s what I’m always looking for: finding a group of people I’m comfortable with. This is the key to success. The team has to be a family and you have to blindly trust them. You always want to be with yours, but if it’s a job to leave, it’s hard to always be competitive.
This Sunday, before I got on the bike, I knew the World Championship could fall. Do you face the thirtieth title differently?
– It’s very different. A young rider has to prove and achieve milestones, but I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved more than I could have imagined. You can always get more, there are no limits. There is a day that will end and you have to touch the ground with your feet, knowing what we have achieved and demanding you to a certain extent. From the moment we saw the calendar I knew that the title would be decided in Barcelona. He almost didn’t want to run, he knew he was taking a lot of risks and had a lot to lose and very little to gain defending a title in just two races. We have worked hard to achieve this. In Andorra we had an almost perfect race and this Sunday we made some more mistakes, despite the veteranism. Starting the track cost me. I had prepared a lot, but even so, there were some mistakes and there are still things to improve.
How do you handle these mistakes to get ahead in the middle of the race?
– I have been very lucky to live many moments like this and lift them. This makes you much stronger, and you always remember those moments. I really enjoy analyzing the races, the tricky weeks. It’s good to also remember those difficult weeks when the bike doesn’t go or you’re not fine and things don’t work out, but in the end you managed to make a great race. Luckily, it hasn’t been a couple of times. In addition, however, you also need to remember when it happens the other way around. When you have an amazing week, with one feeling great, and the race doesn’t go as well as you’d like. Sport is like that. It teaches you that you can never lower your guard or throw in the towel.
Is the physical part as important as the mental part when competing?
– Physically you have to be fine, but maybe it wouldn’t be 50% -50%, as a little more of the mental part is needed. If you’re not psychologically well, no matter how much you’re physically at your best, it doesn’t work. You should always be with an extra point on a mental level. I think it’s easier not to be physically perfect, but to be head over heels a stop and be able to pull it off. If it’s upside down, you won’t lift it.
You are a kind of invincible superhero on the bike. Do you feel that way?
– People think that we are not human and that Toni Bou was impossible for him to stay in zone 1. And look, in the first zone, where no one stayed, I stayed. It’s something I knew could happen and I corrected it really well because it was very worked out.
Are people surprised that you fail?
– Yes, obviously. It’s like when you see an athlete you expect him to do very well and you don’t think he can fail. In the end we are human, and so am I even though I have 30 titles. Obviously we make mistakes, in anything, which is why we train so much to correct them. But in sports you can always be better and it’s always easy to win.
Who is Toni without a motorcycle?
– I have achieved many more World Cups than I could have imagined. When the time comes for injuries or other reasons, I would surely stay connected to this world. I would like to help young drivers and be linked to the team with which I have achieved all my successes. This is the path I would like to follow.
I have to say that if I could have chosen it I would not have asked for it. It was a lot of pressure! Getting to play it in Barcelona and being able to win at Sant Jordi, in front of all my people, a World Cup, and the number thirty … ”
Now, what do you have left?
– Enjoy and try to reach my limits. I want to get as far as possible. One of the most beautiful things I had left to do was to be able to win a World Cup in Barcelona and now we have succeeded.
You proclaimed yourself champion in your home in front of your people. Was there no better way?
– I must say that if I could have chosen it I would not have asked for it. It was a lot of pressure! Getting to play it in Barcelona and being able to win at Sant Jordi, in front of all my people, a World Cup, and the number thirty … Everything has been square and it has been incredible. It could have been, after 29 World Cups, losing the 30th in Barcelona and uh … A lot has happened in my head and I will always end up remembering the mistake I made in zone 1. I was too aggressive and it’s something what happens to me when I’m very nervous.
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