Interview: John Archibald

Over on the website for the Eolo Kometa Cycling Team is a chat with Scotland’s John Archibald who says about his first race for the team; “my path to Clásica de Almería was a bit unconventional if you compare it to my teammates”

Interview: John Archibald

Scottish rider John Archibald made his debut on Almeria’s roads this season recently and was able to finally pin a number on. ‘Chronoman’ as his team calls him, will never forget the Clásica de Almería.

A great rider in the world of track racing and time trialling, in the formation of the Contador Foundation (Eolo Kometa Cycling Team), Archibald aspires to make an important leap on the road at international level given his great qualities in the time trial discipline.

The Clásica de Almería was his first competitive experience with the team and at this level in the pro ranks. A debut that was delayed due to the pandemic, the travel restrictions, and the postponement of races. “My path to Clásica de Almería was a bit unconventional if you compare it to my teammates” says John.

“While many of them enjoyed a second training camp in Oliva over January, I enjoyed the company of my indoor trainer; spending a total of 40 hours over the 11 day period on Zwift. With strict travel restrictions stopping me from making the second training camp, I did my best to re-create the training at home. But this was made more difficult by Scotland’s constant mix of snow, ice and rain. Either way, I was motivated to continue my training with the prospect of racing on the horizon” he says.

The Volta a la Comunitat Valencia was his first racing commitment of the season and his programme in that race included a 21.2 km time trial for the fourth stage from Xilxes to Almenara. However, the plan to do that race took another twist for the worse for John when Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana was cancelled, and the excitement of a time trial stage for him disappeared.

“Opportunities to race were becoming few and far between, so the Clásica de Almería was a privileged opportunity for me to represent the team and open my professional debut” says John.

In Almeria, Archibald enjoyed a day that became very complicated in the final kilometres for the team: “The general sentiment of the race seemed nervous and I saw a lot of crashes from simple situations. Our main sprinter, Pacioni, was the victim of such a crash in the finale. While I didn’t contribute as much as I would have liked to the team’s efforts, young riders Rivi and Bais made an excellent job of attacking the breakaways and scoring points in the intermediate classifications. With Belletti being the highest placed finisher for the team (25th), the team’s morale still seems high, despite it not being the dream result we targeted”.

With the prospect of a busy set of cycle of races in Italy in March, Archibald’s mind is now more focused on not being at home again than on the specific destination to put on a new race number. “As of now, I join the team’s next training camp in Oliva, finishing a training period before moving onwards to Italy and continuing my race program over there. Let’s hope I don’t spend a single ride indoors between now and then; I have my fingers crossed”.

Source of interview above: Eolo Kometa Cycling Team Website