“Of course I’d like to beat Pogacar” - INEOS’ teenage world champion sets sights on cycling’s biggest star ahead of 2027 step-up
Cycling
Benjamin Noval will enter the WorldTour in 2027 with two Rainbow Jerseys, a European title and an ambition to one day test himself against Tadej Pogacar.
“Of course I’d like to beat Pogacar, but that’s going to be pretty difficult,” the 18-year-old Spaniard told MARCA. “When he starts declining, maybe, but right now I see it as pretty much impossible.”
Noval became only the second male junior after Remco Evenepoel to win both the road race and individual time trial at the same World Championships with his double in Montreal, before adding the European time trial title on his 18th birthday.
Those results brought inevitable comparisons with Evenepoel, while Noval’s willingness to attack from distance has prompted others to draw parallels with Pogacar.
“In terms of actually resembling someone, none of them,” he said. “I try to be a different kind of rider from everyone else. Because I’ve just won both World Championships, people compare me more with Remco. Then if I attack from a long way out one day, they compare me more with Pogacar. But they’re both very good and they race quite similarly because, in the end, when you’re good you try to do everything well.”
Benjamin Noval won both the junior time trial and road race at the World Championships
“Of course I’d like to beat Pogacar”
Noval was asked about Pogacar after Paul Seixas, another of Europe’s leading young talents, had spoken openly about wanting to beat the Slovenian rather than wait for him to leave the top of the sport.
“Hopefully,” Noval replied. “Of course it’s motivating to race with Seixas or with people who are standing out now.”
Pogacar is already one of the riders he studies most closely. “I always say you have to look at every rider, take the best version of each one and put them all together,” Noval explained. “That’s what I try to do and, of course, with riders like Pogacar, Vingegaard or people who really stand out, you always end up paying more attention to them than to everyone else.”
Asked to construct his ideal cyclist from the strengths of different riders, Noval selected Pogacar for climbing and Evenepoel for time trialling, before looking towards Jonathan Milan, Paul Magnier and Jasper Philipsen for sprinting. “Right now Pogacar is the perfect rider,” he said.
Noval is less certain about exactly what kind of rider he himself will become. He considers climbing one of his strengths, handles himself well on flatter terrain and identifies sprinting and very flat races as his clearest weaknesses. “I think the road will put me in my place,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of rider I am today.”
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First comes the WorldTour
Before any serious comparison with Pogacar can be tested on the road, Noval must make the jump from junior racing to five-hour days against the best riders in the world. “What scares me most is the category itself and how I’m going to feel on the climbs after five hours on the bike,” he admitted. “That’s what scares me most. I don’t care about the rest.”
INEOS moved early to secure his future, agreeing his switch to the WorldTour while he was still only 16. Rather than passing through an under-23 development programme, Noval will step directly from the junior ranks into the British setup in 2027.
Despite arriving as a double junior world champion, he expects his first season to begin in support of the team’s established leaders rather than with immediate responsibility for winning races himself.
“The objective next year is to help the leaders as well as possible and, of course, still have a noticeable role,” Noval said. “If that’s not by attacking and fighting for stages, then by doing the best possible job for them.”
Working for stronger teammates will also be unfamiliar territory after a junior career dominated by victories. “When you’re inferior, it just comes naturally in the end,” he said. “Until now I’ve never had that feeling, but next year and in the years after that I think I’ll experience it several times.”
Noval has no fixed ideal calendar for his debut season and says he will race wherever INEOS believe is best, helping when required and taking his opportunity if the chance to compete for a result appears.
His first WorldTour season will therefore begin without any promise of leadership or immediate battles with Pogacar. The first test is simply the one Noval himself has identified: finding out what is left in his legs when the road starts climbing after five hours.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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