“They said I would run out of steam quickly, but I managed to qualify for the Olympics.” Novolodskaya has 11 brothers and sisters in her family, we tell her story

There are six Novolodskys in cycling. Vanya, Angelina, Rostislav, Dima, Sasha, Vasilisa, but the most successful is Maria, medalist of the Tokyo Olympic Games. We spoke with Masha about family, running and motivation.

— Masha, how did you get to Locosphinx?

— Our first coach, Alexander Bolshakov, with whom my father also trained, knew Alexander Anatolyevich Kuznetsov. Vanya was the first to go to his training and he constantly invited me with him. I didn’t understand at all what I was supposed to do there and I didn’t really want to go. She put it off, “fed me breakfast,” but went anyway. After the first workout, the coach congratulated me and told me that I had good endurance and I decided to continue.

After the New Year, they already started taking us to the bike path for races. I remember the first Cup, such emotions! New environment! I got involved and the first prizes arrived. Alexander Anatolyevich took me to the girl group from 2013 to 2014. Moved to St. Petersburg.

As a result, the guys were excited: “We want to be like Vanya, like Masha.” There is good data on genes and they follow us. Mom began to come to our track to look after Vasilisa, and now the youngest Kolya wants to run. And so that he has a big and beautiful suitcase like me. With gifts!

— Are you the eldest in the family?

— The oldest are twin brothers. I am the eldest daughter.

—How did you decide to leave home?

– It was very difficult. I was very worried and bored when I moved to St. Petersburg. I am the older sister and I always helped my mother with the children, and I also helped with housework and cooking. I loved the family atmosphere and was basically a homebody. When I was first taken to a sports camp, I went from there. Everyone has lost me! Bolshakov came to us and said: “Well, what are you going to do anyway, sit at the store checkout? I cried, but eventually they persuaded me to come back. So everything was not easy for me.

— Is it easier for someone from such a large family to adapt to a team?

“Vanya was always nearby, that helped. But I was very shy, I was completely withdrawn, silent and I had difficulty making contact. Then I probably grew up, but at first I didn’t feel at all comfortable in this sports atmosphere, I was constantly trying to get home as quickly as possible.

— Didn’t the training load scare you?

“On the contrary, I really liked everything.” I liked that there was a preparation plan, that there was a certain diet. When I lived at home, all the kids in our family woke up differently – some earlier, some later. I got up earlier than the others, filled a large kettle with water, packed my briefcase, woke up the others and went to school without delay.

So when I ended up at boarding school, I really liked that we had our own routine and that everything went according to plan. They even made fun of me because I was so right and I did everything, I observed everything. Someone wanted to download for free and didn’t understand why I liked this diet. They told me: “you do everything, so soon you will quickly stop driving, you will be overloaded”.

– How did you feel about this?

“I couldn’t be irresponsible about training and these conversations… Well, I decided myself that if that happens, if I stop winning, I have every right to return at home (laughs). Time passed, everyone kept saying “well, she’s going to run out of steam soon”… Ultimately, that’s how I got to the Olympics. Not exhausted.

“Didn’t you say to yourself: “Masha, let’s be irresponsible today”?

– I tried it. This doesn’t work very well. I’m also not very good at resting – we hardly get any rest. Maybe on Sunday, after a morning workout, you sleep and can spend the evening more or less freely. You can of course go to the cinema.

— Do you know the word “vacation”?

– Well, you know our team! (Laughs) We are used to this schedule. Let’s rest when we’re done!

– Is it early now?

“And I don’t know how life is going to turn out.” Of what happened to me in my career, I had not planned anything. I hadn’t planned on joining the team. I just worked and that’s it, then the situation developed by itself and now – the Olympics. By the way, what are the Olympic Games? I am still small ! But I drove, I raced, we scored enough points and off we went.

— You not only went to the Olympic Games, you came back with a medal!

— It was a feeling of something incredible. When we finished and got a medal, it was something special. Very cool! We still approached the departure calmly and we told ourselves that we were leaving with a cool head and that we were not paying attention to anyone. Others lost because they were exhausted, nervous and had many falls. We were driving in work mode, which is also not easy. After the middle, when the main work began, we found ourselves ahead of schedule, but we still tried to finish everything calmly. All the emotions came later. The Italians and the Dutch lost to us… After all, the Olympics are completely different competitions, you simply cannot explain them, you have to feel them.

— How were you received?

— We were welcomed at the airport by the family, the guys from the camp. A few days and already on the track, training, preparing for the European Road Championship.

— Women’s cycling is difficult, but not very profitable in terms of money compared to the men’s World Tour fares. How do you feel about this?

– Why compare us? There the loads are different, there are more sponsors and the men’s races are much more difficult. In women’s cycling there are a number of strong riders, between whom the podium is mainly played out. Among men, the competition is much higher. I understand the story with equal fees, but the level is still different in men’s races. And in life, I don’t mind being, as they say, “the weaker sex.”

– The weaker sex? You are the eldest sister of twelve children and you only went to school when the kettle was boiling.

“That’s why I want to be the weaker sex, I dream of it.” There were always additional responsibilities, both at home and in sports. It’s also difficult.