Not too long ago watching Filip and his family riding on 9W, natural as a family of geese, was a comforting sight on the way to Nyack. For many years New York cyclists were treated to the sight of father Peter, uncles Paul and Robert and occasionally even his mother and older brother in a paceline. With tiny Filip Capala, riding on the back concentrating as hard as he could to stay on and occasionally needing a push to make it over the top of a hill.

Filip’s dad came to America when he was a baby, shuttling back and forth from Poland to New York to set up a construction business with his uncles, the eponymous Capala Construction Company. When Filip was ten, he, his mother and brother were able to move here permanently to join his father and uncles. He began riding that year and by fourteen he was racing.

Fast forward a few seasons, now riders who had previously mussed the lads hair and thought his tiny racing bike was cute, were startled by a 6ft tall Filip effortlessly flying by them with his father and uncles in tow fighting to keep on his wheel. All of them now kited out in slick matching team Capala red and white jerseys and bibs. Yeah, those guys.

Filip has always been confortable around older people and that coupled with his growing Palmares on the bike have made him a lot of fans in the park. As I sat talking to him in Central Park it seemed like every third person on a bike waved enthusiastically or yelled to ask when he was leaving to go to college.

NYVC: When did you begin cycling seriously, was it in the womb?

FC: Haa, I started training and riding in Central Park when I was ten, I had just moved to America and my father bought my a bike, by eleven I was riding to Nyack. My first race was at fourteen years old, and by fifteen I started getting more serious.


NYVC: How did you find the racing in the juniors field these past few years?

FC: I really like racing the juniors, some juniors don’t, but it’s one field you can never go back to, so I try to appreciate it now. In other races, the 3s or the 1-2s there are times that the filed rides steady and waits for an attack, the good junior races often have non-stop attacks; attack, you bridge, attack attack, attack. In some of these races most of the juniors are all 1s and 2s already anyhow.


NYVC: Why didn’t you do more cat 1-2 races?

FC: Well for one, I have restrictive Junior gearing, so I spin out in the sprint and the 1-2 races are a little long for me. My father has put together a program that’s working for me and he doesn’t want to put too much stress on my body while I’m still young. When I leave for college, Ill probably upgrade to Cat 2 by the middle of the season, but I’m in no rush to push it.




NYVC: Where are you going to school?

FC: I’m going to the Lindsey Wilson college in Kentucky (go Blue Raiders), and so is Lewis Almonte from Mengoni, Ryan Storm from Target Training and Danny Estevez from Sakonnet, all of us at the same time (!). I feel really lucky to go to school with my NYC racing friends and start this thing together. I’m leaving on Saturday, summer is over for me! I’m going to start and do a few local races with the team. The college racing season starts in February. The program is one of the best in the country. We will be competing nationally, last year we were ranked 4th, and I think 7th this year. But the freshman team will be pretty good, so we hope to bring in a few more points


NYVC: What are some of the other top collegiate racing schools?

FC: Lees-McRae College, Stanford, University of California, and University of Colorado, Ill learn more soon I’m sure.

NYVC: What do you think will be your fondest memories of growing up, riding in NYC?

FC: Definitely making so many friends and getting to know so many people, I’m going to miss all the friends I’ve made, when I go away everything is going to be new. A lot of people have known me since I was a young boy, and I’ve been lucky to receive a lot of support from this community and hopefully, one day I’ll come back, and then I can pay cycling back by helping some younger riders.


NYVC: I know you owe me some pushes, and I’m going to really need them by the time you get back.

FC: (laughs) no problem, I owe you.

NYVC: What are your plans beyond college?

FC: Well we will see if any teams are interested in me, my main goal will be Europe I have a few friends in France and my father and I are looking into racing there in the summer.


NYVC: What if you had opportunity to get a pro contract before you finished school?

FC: Well, with the right offer I would consider leaving college before it’s over, it would be a really tough choice for me, I want to finish school too. But cycling is the main goal for now. I would love to eventually get on a pro team, so a situation that helps my get to that goal would be something I would take a long look at. Perhaps if I am able to impress someone over the summer in Europe…




NYVC: Is there a rider you model yourself after?

FC: I like hard races with fast sprints, I liked watching Cavendish in the tour this year, he was amazing. I have a long sprint, so racers like Tom Boonen are good role models for me. But I am much lighter so uphill sprints are good for me too. I feel like I get stronger every day in a stage race, of course I have never done more than a few days but one day I would like to try.


NYVC: What races will you remember best?

FC: I really enjoyed winning Tour De Christiana, two years ago I won the cat 4, and 2 out of three stages. Last year I won the road race and 3rd overall in the cat 3s, this year the canceled the stage race but I did the 1-2-3 crit and placed 2nd. Winning Bear Mountain in the juniors this year was my all time favorite though, Bear mountain is the classic NY race so Ill go with that. There have been a lot of good memories.


NYVC: What will you miss most about NY?

FC: I’m really going to miss riding in the park at night, as much as I am bored of the same loop, I’ll miss caching up to people as I pass them or they pass me, saying hi asking about their life. Getting to ride here with my dad and uncles, I wont have them sitting on my wheel. But it’s a big door that has opened up for me. My family is really happy and excited for me.


NYVC: Thanks Filip, I know a lot of people will be following you are your career enthusiastically, keep in touch.

FC: Thank you, I will try and do a blog to keep in touch.

Aug 20th epilogue: Very soon after his arrival, an arduous 2 day car
trip from NYC to Kentucky, his coach put a reluctant Filip in his car
and took him to a Cat 1-2 race, which he promptly won. Then
for good measure he took the time trial the day after. On his first day
of school the dean introduced him to the assembly to congratulate him.

All that in the same space of time it takes most freshman to find the cafeteria.