It's starting to get dark outside and slowly the Italian cross-country championship caravan is disbanding. Daniele Pontoni (opening with the president FCI Dagnoni) is partly the city manager and partly the host. The long weekend in Variano di Basiliano went as well as could be hoped for and Jakob Dorigoni's victory among the elite closed the competition, projecting those who will be present towards the World Cup. The World Cup in Holland will be for the elite only and Italy will not go.Instead, we will spend a short time in Flamanville, France, with the Under 23s, and then we will think about the World Cup.
«I'll take him to the World Cup – says the Friulian coach winking towards Toneatti right next to it - And I also carry the PersicoI'll tell you this right away."
The two won respectively among the under 23s and the elite women, it is logical to expect their presence in Fayetteville.
The organizational machine
The Friulian he divides his time between his two roles, as organizer and coach of the national team. And even if he does everything to keep the two roles separate, it is clear that for DP66 he is always the point of reference, even if perhaps without a specific role.
"From what I've heard, everyone was happy," says the Italian national team coach, "the athletes, the teams. It's nice, because We put a lot of effort into it, but there were people who put a lot of effort into this and it wasn't meI may have coordinated some of this work, but the president of DP66 Bevilacqua, Luisa, and the president of Varianese did something truly important. We brought five companies together. Many people in the country believed in this event».
The strength of the juniors
However, it's also possible to assess the event from a tactical perspective. Here, Pontoni outlines what could be the future direction for Italian cross-country skiing.
«The Daniele cittì – he says – is very satisfied with the junior categorySeeing three first-year athletes in the top three positions and then with Paletti right behind is a source of great satisfaction. There will be a few more juniors at the World Championships than we thought at the start of the season.They're our strong point, because the trend has turned around. They were the category with the most starters, whereas before we were losing a lot. We had good numbers among beginners and undergraduates, and then they dropped off."
Sophie Auer arrives alone. Valentina Corvi can be seen behind her. For the South Tyrolean, the embrace of her coach Gerry Zanolini He is Cristian Zanolini, his coach and former pro, with his son Italian podium, Sophie Auer preceded Corvi and Fontana
Sophie Auer arrives alone. Behind her, Corvi 
For the South Tyrolean, the embrace of her coach Gerry Zanolini He is Cristian Zanolini, his coach and former pro, with his son Italian podium, Sophie Auer preceded Corvi and Fontana
The "children" of Zanolini Bike
Two young men won with uncommon energy and hunger. Samuele Scappini, ahead of Paccagnella and Prà in the men's race. Sophie Auer, in the women's race, wore the same jersey as Paccagnella: that of the Zanolini team. And here comes the surprise. Because, like what happened yesterday with Francesco Cingolani, embracing Cristian Zanolini was a real surprise. We had known him as an amateur with the Zalf jersey and then as a pro at Carrera and Jolly. Today together with his brother Gerry he runs the bike shop in Bolzano and created the junior cross country team, for Don't let those 12 sophomores stop looking for a jersey.
"I didn't expect it," Auer says. "There were so many strong girls. It was a great race. Corvi and Fontana are two very strong opponents, and I had to give it my all to finish alone. Starting tomorrow I'll finally rest for a while. and in two weeks I'll start thinking about mountain biking."
Party to win
They had already shown you something about Scappini, having talked about him with Giancarlo Montedori in piece on Team Fortebraccio of which the fresh junior tricolor wears the shirt.
«From the beginning I saw that I had it in my legs – he says – and I waited for the last two laps to see if I could break away from them. The course was very nice for someone with my characteristics. I made up positions and in the last laps I tried to get away. I have to say thank you to my teammates and Giancarlo Montedori, who is an exceptional coach. He raised me almost from an early age.I'm really happy. This jersey is a dream, it was my goal."
Samuele Scappini won the junior competition with a powerful solo While Scappini was going to the podium, the arrivals continued on the straight So on the podium Scappini, ahead of Pacagnella and Prà
Samuele Scappini won the junior competition with a powerful solo While Scappini was going to the podium, the arrivals continued on the straight So on the podium Scappini, ahead of Pacagnella and Prà
More road races
The base is being rebuilt, but It cannot be done by remaining within the still limited scope of cross-country skiing: there is a need for collaboration and a turning point in terms of summer activities. And here Pontoni dust off the theme which we had also faced in the past few weeks.
«We hope that this trend – he says – will continue even in the higher categories. And that the teams, taking inspiration from what happens abroad, will make their teams available to our specialistsIn the meantime, we need to draw on young people. We need support from regional committees and sports clubs. It's a long journey, but as we've seen, teamwork can achieve a lot. We were talking about it this morning with Amadori and Amadio, the national team manager. We need to get our kids racing more on the road, they need to do stage racesIt's not something new, we used to do it too when I was racing. I had a great coach like Edi Gregori, with whom we achieved great results. The path is already traced.You have to follow her."
