Águeda, Portugal, will be one of the
epicenters of the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2016 and is also João
Ferreira's homeland. With the competition days coming quickly, the
excitement grows and the athlete's commitment to give the very best
before his public takes some very special nuances. Let us know him
better, his goals and dreams, his fights and bets.
You've been to Åhus two weeks ago,
taking part in the MTBO Camp 2016. Apart, maybe, the biggest Foot
Orienteering Relays (Jukola, Tiomila), isn't very common to see
Portuguese athletes in events abroad on their own initiative. How did
this opportunity to compete in Sweden happen and how does it fit with
your workout plan, assuming that the ultimate goal of the season is
the World Championships?
João Ferreira (J. F.) - For
several years I’ve thought of attending this training camp. Last
year it wasn't possible, but this year I could do it. When I began
planning the new season, in November 2015, I put this training
Camp/WRE as a major factor in my preparation. This year I bet more
on my technical and physical preparation and I think I can only raise
my level, training and competing in more international competitions.
Even all alone, I travelled to Sweden with the aim of improving the
technical component and competing and, at the same time, to compare my
levels in the WRE races. I was glad I started to get more consistency
in the races and reduce the time for the world's best. The main
objective of this season is undoubtedly the World Championships. I
know that I need to keep on working and learning! To the Championships, the preparation has to be step by step.
How was the time you've spent in
Sweden? Did it meet your expectations?
J. F. - Sweden was basically
always either to train or to compete. Altogether, training and
competitions, I participated in 8 races in 5 days. I was in that area
of Sweden with the national team in 2014 when we ran the World Cup
and the O-ringen MTBO. The maps are the most technical I've ever
done. The terrain is quite good for MTBO, it is demanding and
challenging. Those were incredible days, meeting all my expectations.
It was an amazing experience!
How is going the season so far?
At what level is your motivation and self-confidence?
So far it has gone well. This year I'm
doing different things, with greater depth and specificity. I'm very
motivated and confident. I think there was a stage of my sporting
career I relaxed a bit and got used to the results I had. Now I want
more. I want to feel what I felt in 2008 and 2009 when I got good
international results in the Junior Class. When I was National Champion Sprint in April, I realised it was just after some technical
changes, monitoring and preparation this season. This motivated me
even more.
Your first presence in the World
MTBO Championships, in the Elite class, was in Ben Shemen, Israel, in
2009. Since then, you've always been present in the World
Championships, except in 2010, in Portugal. Do you still feel sorrow
of not having been chosen for the national team that time?
J. F. - If I think about it?
Yes, I do. I try not to think about it. I respect the decision of the
responsible persons, but I have to admit that those were difficult
days. For an athlete who is preparing for more than two years for a
competition and then he doesn’t participate, it is very difficult
and frustrating. Even more when the competition is in his own
country. On the other hand it turns out to be something that
motivates me more because I know what it felt like not to go to the Championships so I want to do everything to get to all those which
will happen in the future.
If I asked you to draw a parallel
between the João Ferreira in 2009 and the João Ferreira today,
where are the major differences? And what remains similar?
J. F. - The biggest difference
is that João Ferreira 2016 has six World Championships as Elite and
all the experience acquired over the years. I learned a lot. I
developed myself as a person and as an athlete. I feel I am more
prepared. I can feel more focussed. But some things remain the same.
The motivation, the desire to be better, the wish to go further and
achieve higher performance levels, all this has not changed.
Throughout the last six or seven
years, what was the most important moment of your career? And what
about the greatest MTB orienteering achievement, that still and
always remains in your mind as a source of inspiration and
motivation?
J. F.
- Over the past years there were some memorable moments either the
positive or the negative. 2008 and 2009 were memorable years: several
times National Champion, 9th best in the world in sprint (2008 as a
junior) and long distance (2009 as a junior), 7 best of Europe (2008
as a junior) and my first participation in a World Championship
seniors (2009 but I was still junior). It's hard to pick just one
moment but I think it is the 9 thplace
in the World Junior Championships in Denmark, in 2009.
Another striking moment and that will
always remain in my memory happened last year at the end of the
Sprint in the World Championships in Czech Republic. I made a strong
preparation for these Championships, I was highly motivated and
committed. I had worked a lot and wanted to achieve good results.
When I arrived to the Czech Republic I got sick. I did the first
training and started getting worse. On Middle Distance race I didn't
get a good result and after running under heavy rain I got even
worse. I had fever, pain but just thought I wanted to make a good
race sprint to get qualified for the long race. I went to sprint race
with an idea of “all or nothing”. I didn't do a good result. At
the end of this race I was really sad, as never before because of a
competition. I was crying because after months of preparation I
didn't feel well or was able to make good results. Then I had the
good news, I had managed to qualify for the Long final, but at the
same time, at the hospital they gave me antibiotics and advised me
not to compete because it would increase the risk of sudden death. I
had to make a difficult decision. There were still missing two races,
the Final of the Long and the Relay event. It was very complicated. I
felt really bad. After much thought I talked to the person
responsible for the National Team, Daniel Marques, and decided the
best would be to go back to Portugal and recover my health, as soon
as possible. It was hard but it was then that I decided what I wanted
to 2016. It is my source of inspiration. I went back to Portugal,
recovered and came back stronger. I feel that in recent years I grew
up, I developed my technical skills and I'm more mature as an athlete
and a person.
The World MTB Orienteering
Championships 2016 will take place “around your house”. What
particular emotion do you feel about that? How do you handle the
pressure in these situations?
J. F. - Despite living in
Lisbon, Agueda will always be my city. It is always good to go to
Agueda, so to compete there will be even better. Competing close
to home gives me a greater motivation. I feel really good. I
think pressure is not the best word. I think I can feel more anxiety
for wanting to compete much in perfect condition and achieve good
results. Controlling emotions is also something that I am working on,
so that everything goes for the best.
What kind of World Championships can
we expect?
J. F. - I think there should be
a lot of variety. On one hand there may be more mountainous areas, we
should certainly find other fairly flat areas. Areas of forest and
vineyards. When the terrain is flat you increase the speed and this
can add some difficulty to the races, so I foresee very competitive
and hard competitions. Portugal has always presented itself with the
excellence of organizations; I believe it will be a memorable event
and that both Portuguese and foreign athletes will remember these
world championships for a long time.
Fighting for the titles, we'll have
among us, once more, the best in the World. Who will be the
Championships' biggest names, in your opinion?
J. F. - I think there are
countries that always have great possibility to discuss titles. When
we speak of a World Championship, the level is so high that small
details determine the winner. There are a lot of great athletes who
can win. I can think of some names that will surely have good results
but it's hard to bet on two or three. There are very strong countries
with many good athletes as it is the case of Russia, Czech Republic,
Finland and France but then we also have very good athletes from
other countries like Italy, Estonia, Switzerland, Austria or Portugal
and others. Every year the competition increases and becomes even
stronger. I think this will be no exception.
Talking about your goals and ambition, how far can you go on these
Championships?
J. F. - This year, as I said
before, I'm training differently and more specifically. I really want
to jump to another level of results. The ambition is great but
feasible and possible. I believe I can achieve good results. I am
working to strive with the best. I feel that I'm starting to be more
consistent and to reduce the times to the winner. I guess I'm on the
right way to do a really nice World Championships. I
just want to recognise the effort of my sponsors to support me in
everything I need. Thank you Merida, Cristalmax SA, Câmara
Municipal de Águeda, Ferbikes, Prototype, NextGeneration,
Nutrixxion, Abus, Swisseye, Orifix, BicycleLine, Midland,
Aportsports, Vittoria, San Marco, Liqui Moly, OXD, Luck, Ozxtreme,
Clube de Aventura da Bairrada.
Thank you to my girlfriend, family and
friends that always give me more strength and courage to keep going
the best as I can. My success is also theirs!
Finally, I would ask you to share
with us your biggest wish?
J. F. - I know what I want and
where I'm going. I'm finding the way to get there. A wish is a wish,
right? So, if I say that I don’t have the wish to be one of the
best of the world one day, I would be lying. Laughs. I think all
athletes want to win, I'm not different. I know that a result in the
top 20 is a very good result but, who knows, the sky is the limit. :)
[Photo: Skogssport MTBO-campen I Åhus's
post on facebook.com/Skogssport]
Joaquim Margarido
