"Endurance sport gives us the mental strength we need to fly"

APRIL 7, 2024

"ENDURANCE SPORT GIVES US THE MENTAL STRENGTH WE NEED TO FLY"

Savina Paül and Pol Arisó are the protagonists of the following report and image of the Essentials Collection PV25. We present them to you!

They say that breakfast is the best meal of the day. Whether it's a quick coffee or a table full of fruit, toast and cereal, breakfast always has something special: it sets the pace, gives energy and prepares us for what's to come. And if there's one thing good breakfasts and good conversations have in common, it's that both are best enjoyed when passion is involved. With the sea in the background and the smell of adventure in the air, Savina and Pol, both long distance commercial pilots, open the doors to their world of contrasts from the inspiring surroundings of the ZEL Hotel Costa Brava.

Savina, Pol, which team do you belong to at breakfast?

‘We are ‘avocado toast’ team with ham, omelette or turkey. Definitely, a good bread and extra virgin olive oil is better for us than any yoghurt with fruit and oatmeal. Although sometimes we make the change just to try it, we always end up going back to the first option...

The panoramic views of the ZEL Hotel Costa Brava invite you to a relaxed and unhurried breakfast

How did your love for cycling begin?

(Pol) I started when I was very young, because when I was little I lived with my family in a town in the Pyrenees. My father was a fan of cycling and we used to go out together, until I was 11 years old when I started to go out with my friends. I tried MTB, downhill... until I finally landed on a road bike. When I went to university I put the bike to one side for a while, until I became a commercial pilot. Then I had more stability and went back to it.

At that moment Savina appeared and as my partner she also became a fan of this sport. Sharing this hobby, enjoying rides and landscapes together, was an ideal complement to running. It is now part of our daily life.

You are both commercial pilots and work long days, spread over different continents? How do you balance your training and day-to-day work?

Our work makes it difficult, and we've really discovered that we love cycling because life has made it more of a challenge for us. It's hard to follow a routine when you're away from home for 3 to 7 days at a time. Even when you get home, you find jet lag has disrupted your biorhythms.

Anyway, we have our own folding bikes that we take with us, or we rent bikes and in our free time, apart from training, we like to go on trips and discover new places. We can do anything from 400 km a week to not being able to go out, even for a single ride.

(Pol) For example, I want to train according to a plan from a coach, but I'm having a hard time sticking to it…

(Savina) Don't listen to him, as motivated as he is, he'll get there one way or another!

What other hobbies do you share together?

All of them! It's funny because most airline pilots are so passionate about their work that they talk about planes 24/7, but we, although we also love flying, come home and have a thousand projects outside aviation: Sporting (a few weeks ago we ran our first marathon), professional (writing a book, spreading the word on networks) and personal.

After so many years, we have adapted to each other and we are very much in sync, and I think the key has been to respect each other's independence and space.

Is there any country left to travel to on Strava?

Although we have flown to many airports, we don't always sleep in those cities. Now we do, but when we used to fly around Europe, the most common thing was to go and come back. Almost all the long-haul destinations we've been to (San Francisco, New York, Buenos Aires, Miami, Santiago de Chile...) we've ridden and ridden with the Brompton but we still have a long way to go to get KOMS, PRs and Kudos!

The ZEL Costa Brava awaits, with the Giverola and Giveroleta coves.

The 365 curves route is one of the most famous routes on the Costa Brava.

From Tossa de Mar to Sant Feliu de Guíxols there is a wide variety of viewpoints to get off the bike and enjoy the Mediterranean.

¿Tenéis algún ritual antes de salir en bici?

Sin duda, tomar un buen café es nuestro ritual sagrado. Nos encanta el café de especialidad, somos tan frikis que lo preparamos en casa midiendo a la perfección nuestro flat white con leche de avena. 18 gramos de café en una extracción de 24 segundos y del que nos salen 40 ml en taza, y como no: vaporizando la leche, texturizándola para hacer un buen latte art.

(Pol) Yo poco a poco he ido perfeccionando la técnica.

(Savina) Los cafés me saben mejor en casa que en cualquier cafetería... ja,ja,ja!

En ZEL Costa Brava se puede tomar Café de Finca en su coffee corner.

What do you do when you have 48 hours free together?

We like to spend our time in our little house in the Pyrenees, go cycling, hiking or anything in nature.

We love to eat, so we'll probably go to a restaurant or two, but above all, we prioritise recovering from our flights (by sleeping well), training and seeing our family and friends.

Next sporting challenges?

(Pol) Good question, because our next challenge is in cycling: we are going to take part in the Mallorca 312, to do the 167 km route, which is much more than Savina has ever done and is a super challenge for a couple.

What about a challenge outside sport?

Although we are very young, we have had so many challenges ahead of us for so many years that now we want to savour them a little. At 18 we started training as pilots, at 22 we joined an airline and did the training for the aircraft we were going to fly, which is quite tough. In 2020, the pandemic came and we spent 6 months without flying. In 2022 we changed aircraft for long haul and did the A330 training.

That same year we were finally able to fly together as pilots on the same plane; for example, on a flight to Buenos Aires or Chile we fly with three pilots, the commander and two co-pilots.

And all this combined with aviation education and sharing our lifestyle of sport, travel and health. Now we want to take it easy and enjoy it a bit more.

Savina wears the new Gara jersey in clay colour and the new Olímpica shorts in black. Pol wears the new Gara jersey in blue-grey and the new Olímpico shorts in grey.

Acknowledgements: Hotel Zel Costa Brava.