Interview Justyna Czapla

Justyna Czapla is one of the new kids on the block in the peloton this year. She has been riding her bike since her childhood and started her racing adventure in the big pro peloton this year. A journey that started with immediate success. The 19 years old German rider took already her first top 10 spots in the first months of her pro career. In her new environment she tries to chase success and learn from all the new things that come on her path. The junior European World champion tells you more about her experiences and ambitions in this interview. 

It's your first year in the Canyon/SRAM Generation Project. What are your experiences in this very diverse team?

I feel very comfortable around my teammates and staff. Everyone is friendly and appreciates being a member of the team. It's also very interesting for me to get to know more about the culture of my teammates, who come from all over the world, and to get an idea of how cycling works in their home countries. I always enjoy racing with my team and I look forward to every race with it.

 

You have been doing very well in some very hard hilly races. How do you look back at your first months in the pro peloton?

 I'm really pleased that I've found my way around the pro peloton so quickly and have already been able to achieve some good results for the team. This shows me that I don't have to be afraid of other pro riders on a different team or have more years of experience racing than me. It’s good for my self-confidence. However, there is still a lot to improve to become a good professional rider and I’m working on that in the next years of my career.

This year, Ricarda Bauernfeind made the step up to the elite team after just one year in the development squad. Is she your inspiration to do the same?

Definitely Ricarda is my inspiration when it comes to strength on the bike and her success in some of the bigger races that we are doing this year. But, I need to take my time and I need to gain more experience with CANYON//SRAM Generation. I’m not ready to join a World Tour Team.

You became junior European time trial champion last year. Would you like to keep focusing on this discipline in the future?

In the future I would like to focus on the ITT and develop my talent there. But I don't want to focus only it , because road racing is also something I love and of course I want to do well there as well.

 

Do you care a lot about numbers & stats during training or do you prefer to listen to your feelings on the bike?

For me, my feelings on the bike have always been more important than numbers and stats during training. It's much better to listen to your body and adapt your training to it. It's no use at all if you don't feel good and still try to achieve all the numbers your body might not be strong enough for that day.

 

You have been riding since the age of 10. How did you discover the sport?

My family and I've always been very active in sports. We used to do a lot of bike rides together that took us half the day, and I really enjoyed riding my bike. It's a great feeling to feel the speed and get your legs going, and it's also nice to discover new beautiful places just by riding. So at the age of 10, I decided to join a cycling club and just see if cycling would suit me. From then on I haven't stopped going and I'm happy that I've come so far now.

 

You're good in time trialing and you climb well. Do you dream of winning the Tour de France one day?

Yes, of course! One of my biggest dreams is to ride the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and even nicer would be to win it. For now it’s a dream and maybe one day I'll be strong enough to race it.

Do you like to watch races too or you mostly like racing yourself?

I prefer racing myself, but I'm also interested in watching races because I can learn so much from the others and it’s another opportunity to gain experience for the sport.