Mario Mola held a press conference to announce his renewal with Marabans Coffee & Tea and give his impressions after the first race of the WTS2019.

Below, you can read the full interview with Mario Mola at Marabans Coffee Shop.

-Interviewer: Did you expect to start so strongly? And to see another Spaniard on the podium, Fernando also in this first race in Abu Dhabi?

-Mario Mola: In previous years I've had a good start and it's good motivation for the following races. You don't know how he and his rivals are in the first race. It's also very fast, because it's a long World Championship, 8 months, but as in previous years I've competed well, I was confident I could have a good race, but I'm aware that it's the first one and that I have to face the next block of races as well prepared as possible.

E: It was a race with the demands of the weather, a little bumpy in that transition that you had to overcome, was it a good test to see you in extreme situations and especially in sprint mode?

M: Despite having a good race, it's true that I made a mistake, I didn't position myself well in the last kilometres of the bike, it didn't allow me to run in a good position and I didn't have an easy time putting on my shoes, the rest were faster than me and I had to start with a few seconds disadvantage which in a sprint distance race, when the distances are very small, forced me to make a big effort to reach the front and then trust that if I had the best foot race, which in the end was the case, I could get that first place.

E: The list of favourites, we've talked about it a thousand times, we already see some who are pushing, everyone is talking about Yee, he has made a great start to the season and until the last minute he was giving battle, should we add him to Louis and company?

M: No doubt, of course it is a first race and the references of those competitors who finished near the head, well it is only a reference, there are certainly people who did not have their best test and will be disputing the next races, as for example the same Vincent Louis, my training partner Jeimy Wizel, but well, we saw how Fernando Alarza was already competing very well, And in the case of Alex Yee, it's not that we didn't expect it because we were all aware of the level he has on foot, but it was the first time he participated in a world series and to finish that first race in second position is nothing less than despicable, and without a doubt he will be someone to keep in mind in the next races and in the coming years as he gains experience.

E: What are your feelings now after winning? I don't know if you knew when you went there what you could achieve... What are your feelings?

M: Starting the first race winning is a peace of mind for the rest of the championship, this year we still have one race less than last year, that means we can discard one less, so every result will be very important, without a doubt, starting with a win is a very important step forward, but it is only a small step. This is a 5 race championship plus a final, it is as important to be in shape now as the May/July period, which concentrates most of the races and without a good last race, without a final, which this year is in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the end of August, it is not possible to compete in the World Championship either, so it is necessary, to be very constant, very regular, and I will try to do it as I have done in previous years.

E: You have all the races well studied, which one is the one that gives you a bit more respect?

M: Now we have Bermuda, it will be the next race, it was my worst result last year, so it is a complicated race, which will surely give a lot of battle, also Leeds because it is in the home of the English, we will compete, just as before we had the race in Madrid and we could compete at home, the English have that race in Leeds, so it will be a very difficult race.

E: It's impossible not to think about Tokyo, there's still time left but any athlete thinks about it...

M: That's how it is, obviously the media also remind you that it's a different race, a special race and I've experienced it so far and that's how I'll experience it if everything goes well and I can be on the start line in Tokyo. I am aware that I can't do anything special other than prepare as well as possible, this is what is in my hands, but without a doubt, we will prepare it as a special event and when this season is over, all efforts will be made to be as good as possible for the month of August 2020.

E: The pressure of preparing for the season knowing that you could be the four-time world triathlon champion, to approach the season with this objective, with this pressure of more help, does it add or subtract when it comes to...?

M: I try to make sure that this pressure helps, because in the end, it is clear that it is not the same to go to a race where anything goes, where any result is good, or to go to a race where everyone expects you to get a good result, and that is why in recent years I have focused my calendar on the world series, because the wear and fatigue for the body to follow a calendar of these characteristics, with so much travel and there where everyone expects, and you yourself expect, to do well is a lot of wear, but I'm used to it and I try that this pressure is good, to be able to compete better, I think that people expect from you is a good sign, and it is because people trust that you can be ahead.

E. You are thinking about trying the relay in 2019, taking into account that in 2020 those of you who are in the individual are the ones who are going to be forming the relay, 

E: Are Javi's 5 titles unattainable?

M: No, I have always said that for me it is no more incentive, no more motivation to try to equal or surpass Javi's titles.... I try to take advantage of every season and every race, what Javi has done in our sport, triathlon, goes beyond those 5 titles, so I don't feel, I don't compare myself with him and with those titles, obviously for me he is a reference, he has always been, but I think I have to focus on what is in my hands which is to try to take advantage of every race and every opportunity to continue improving and hopefully that will be... the doubt of achieving it or not, will be the sign that things are going well.

E: Maybe what you talk about training in the present, more important than the quantity, quality and intensity of that training, is that you have a base?

M: Yes, from the experience of previous years, it is just as important to start the season, accumulating many hours of training, as it is to build up the intensity. It is clear that in a sport like ours, where we run faster and faster, the intensity is a fundamental part of our preparation, and that is where a body with more years and more training finds it more complicated to assimilate all that intensity, but I think that having a good base in these first months of the year is what allows us to have the intensity we need to be able to run, swim and cycle at the pace required for a World Championships event.

E: After the scare you had last year, seeing your girlfriend compete again, I understand that it is also a nice incentive to be able to see her again at the highest level?

M: Without any doubt for us, and also for her, it was a very complicated year but it is true that she has come out of it very strengthened. Today she is training almost normally and trying to recover what she couldn't do last year for obvious reasons, but step by step and also trying to take advantage of this second chance that she has today.

Friday 22nd March 2019 at Marabans Coffe Shop, Palma.