Abel Mustieles has been the clear protagonist of this pre-season. World No. 2 and factory rider Monty/WildWolf made a splash by leaving the mark where he has achieved his greatest success (KOXX) for Monty. Without a doubt, it has been a facelift for the Spanish brand that has trusted the rider who currently has the greatest world projection to develop the new M5 and attack all the existing championships together with Dani Comas.
This signing left a series of questions that from Trialworld we wanted to discover so after getting in touch with Abel we can offer you an interview in which the rider from Caspe tells us all his feelings about the signing, the bike and the season that is going to start.
TRIALWORLD: Hi Musti, as always thank you for your time and availability whenever we ask for it. How has your life changed since I last interviewed you? What has this change meant in your life?
ABEL MUSTIELES: This last year my life has been more than changing, evolving day by day, trying to turn a hobby into something professional. We’ve made a lot of changes to that end, but to answer your question, the most recent change is my move to Monty. This change means putting all the means to be a professional.
official Monty rider Becoming an official rider for a brand like Monty involves a lot of things. First of all, it is an honour for me to belong to the most important brand of trial bikes in the world. Apart from an illusion and racing for the brand of a legend like Ot Pi, the fact that they count on you to develop their star bike is a source of pride. On the other hand, this is a change for the better, a change focused on life that I would like to lead during the years that my sports career lasts
TW: It’s been a few years at Koxx and now it’s been a big change and as the brand’s number one. Can you tell us about this?
AM: As you say, it’s been a long journey with KOXX, a journey from which I leave with a very good taste in my mouth, but things end and we have to look at new horizons. Monty has always been the most charismatic brand in the world of trial. In addition, the fact that we are a Spanish company that manages the great Ot Pi also makes things easier.
It is a very good satisfaction and a great added motivation for 2012 to drive the revolutionary Monty M5. I want to clarify that in Monty I am not number 1, the philosophy of this team is to treat all its riders equally and in this sense I am very lucky to share a team with Dani Comas.
TW: You surprised everyone with this change, what were the main reasons?
AM: People were very impressed because they saw me finishing my sports career at Koxx. But in life you can’t close doors and you always have to look to the future out of the corner of your eye. My contract with Koxx ended in 2011 and of course, my dream was to become a Monty driver. There were a few more offers but the best option was Monty. Ot Pi wanted to count on me for the development of the brand, which was decisive when I decided on that option because I considered that it was the one that best suited me and honestly, the one I liked the most.
TW: Do you plan to race biketrials or just UCI races?
AM: In 2012 I will compete in both specialties, although always prioritizing the UCI. In Biketrial I will compete in the Spanish championship and in the World Championship. Although looking at the calendar I will only be able to compete in Italy, since the other competitions coincide with UCI and as I say, for me the first thing is the UCI.
TW: New brand, new life and new bike, what can you tell us about the M5? Do the sensations vary much on a 20″ aluminum? You’ve chosen double hs. A lot of change? Why that option?
AM: Just because of how pretty the Monty M5 is, the feeling is already changing! What carbon brings is lightness, but the stiffness is also very noticeable. Otherwise, nothing should be noticed. If these two changes are done well, there is already a lot to be gained from carbon. I have to say that there are still things to be tested and that the goal is to make a revolutionary bike in 2012, and I don’t just mean the frame.
is a truly revolutionary bike. For now, I’m testing prototypes. The frame and fork are not yet final, as we are going to lose weight to really make a bike that marks an era. In addition to this, Monty has developed some high-quality components focused on today’s trial, light and high-end, which are arriving and we are also testing.
The first few hours with the bike were weird as I didn’t have the opportunity to go down to my house to get it ready. Now that I’ve had a few workouts I can say that I’m totally used to the bike. There wasn’t much change either, the biggest one was the HS33 brakes because it took me a while to figure out the kind of preparation needed to make it brake the way I wanted. Now that I have it I’m very happy with the brakes, I think if there’s no unexpected change I’m going to continue with them.
I think they are perfectly suited to the needs of today’s trial. There are many components behind it that are impressive.
TW: There are a lot of people who think that carbon will eventually start or that it’s not viable, being one of the two drivers who have it, what can you say about that?
AM: You just have to look at other disciplines. Carbon has been embedded in them for a long time. In trials it is coming very little by little. Looking back when the carbon handlebars came out, everyone trained scared in case it broke and now, look, there’s no brand that doesn’t
Have carbon handlebars. Well, this is the same, in a few years there will be more carbon bikes and it will be normal. It’s the first thing that counts.
TW: What decision-making power do you have over the development of the new bike?
AM: Between Dani Comas and I we are testing the Monty M5 and all the new Monty components. We are the ones who have to give the go-ahead for production to begin. Anotherprototype of the Monty M5 and some other components have to arrive. And the good thing about this is that they listen to us, they trust our word for the good of the company.
TW: Monty has chosen you as the rider who will focus on the UCI competitions. What does this mean for you? Would you have preferred Dani to be in the fight as well?
AM: For me, the ICU is what is really important and therefore a priority. For me it doesn’t mean any change, my mentality is going to be the same: go for it. I would love it if Dani is encouraged and comes to a competition, for me I wish they would all continue for 10 more years! Dani, Benito, Carles, Rick, Loris, Ion… Hopefully we’ll have a rivalry for a long time, that’s the beauty of the sport and what makes trial grow.
TW: This year is the year of all goals, how are you facing it, how are you preparing?
AM: This year I have one more weapon apart from the Monty, which is a very big motivation due to the environment that surrounds me. Motivation is very important. Thanks to this I have put myself in the hands of Jesús Otero, a great Andalusian physical trainer. We’ve been working for a while and it’s very noticeable, but now is when the real hard comes, there’s still a lot of work to do to be able to give 100% in the competitions.
It is a job that was unknown to me until now and that I am putting into practice with all the effort in the world.
TW: What do you think about the new regulations with the Superfinals?
AM: I think that if we had to be physically strong before, now we are going to have to really get our act together. Thinking about all the World Cups, the truth is that once the final is over, it will be very demanding to start doing four more zones. But hey, you’ll really see the one who has done a good preparation and is really strong enough to hold those four more areas at a good level.
Until we get to the super final there is a semi-final, a final… So until those days arrive, there is a lot of work to be done to face all this well prepared. So: let’s get to it!
TW: You’ve gone from being a teammate of one of the “Magnificent Three” to being a teammate of another, more changes for you, how do you live this situation?
AM: I’ve gone from being a teammate of a “magnificent” to being a teammate of another “magnificent”. Dani is a very good friend of mine and I’m very happy to be in Monty with him. Our relationship goes back years, but now we have become good friends and we are teammates who defend the ideals and interests of a brand. You will see us training together more often, we will try to take photos and videos to show the world our other partner, the M5.
TW: What can you tell us about your new store?
AM: My new bike shop, AMG Bikes, is a project that the whole family has embarked on, it was what was missing to finish surrounding ourselves with an environment dedicated exclusively to the bike sector. I put aside my studies to get into this. Little by little we entered the market, although these are very difficult times, but we are holding on and we are looking forward to the new competitions in 2012 so that people can come closer to us.
We are dedicated to all areas of the bike sector and as far as trials are concerned, we have everything from beginner bikes to the bike or the most professional component. In addition, you can also order online at
www.amgbikes.es
.
TW: Greetings Abel and thank you very much for your time. Good luck in 2012!
AM: Thank you very much and congratulations for this super website!
Text: Álvaro López
