Thomas Wolves He has just returned from Nantes, the venue of the BMX World Championships, where the only final he reached was that of Frizzarin in the junior race. Frizzarin in particular had already been mentioned because he's one of the boys Ivan's attention has also fallen on. Forty and the track speed sector. The collaboration between the two branches of cycling, different only in appearance, continues and is bearing fruit for both.Don't be fooled by the final results from Nantes, as Italy brought five athletes to the second day, the one that awards medals in the various categories. Something that seemed unthinkable just a couple of seasons ago.
A prominent element of this mix is Matteo Tugnolo, the very young Italian who launched the under 23 sprint team towards a sensational European bronze medal. Lupi knows him well and for this very reason, while not forgetting that last year he was fourth in the junior BMX world championship, the one won by Radaelli, pushes towards his total conversion to the track: «He has great prospects in that field, precisely because he can take advantage of the years he spent in BMX and which gave him the basis in riding, in explosiveness».
The moment of choices
Lupi is very clear on the important issue of multidisciplinary practice. In this case, we reach a point where a choice is necessary: "Doing both disciplines at a high level is practically impossible And the Dutch, who are at the top in both, have shown us this. When you get to the junior ranks, you have to understand which discipline is best for you and make a choice, then work specifically to acquire the necessary technical knowledge."
The fact remains that Tugnolo has gone from the international top of one specialty to the other in less than a year: «Matteo is explosive and very technical, and this helped him first and foremost in immediately finding the right position on the bike for the track. The doors in BMX are not closed for him, given what was said before. In fact, I'd be curious to see it in action based on what I learned with Ivan's group."
Immediate explosiveness
And what does Tugnolo say? All that attention had left him a little confused on his return from Portugal: "I was surprised by the results I got, but I knew that the role of pitching is ideal for me because I can unload my power right away. With the coaches, I immediately understood that this could be my first real commitment, in the other specialties there is still a lot of work to do from a technical point of view".
Matteo admits, however, that the situation has changed a lot since he first entered the track: «It's not me who says it, it's the stopwatch. When I started I was running very fast times, after three months the improvement in the 200 meters as well as in the kilometer was enormous, beyond my expectations."
The future in speed
The bronze he won at the European Championships (last year he had won the continental silver medal, but in BMX) convinced him that the choice was the right one: «I have no intention of going back, I'm focused on this new business because I realize day after day that it can give me great satisfaction. It's a more viable path at an international level than BMX."
When he mentions this word, his voice barely hides a hint of nostalgia: «BMX immediately excited me. I come from Vigevano, where this specialty has a historical society, who wrote important pages in Italy. I started at 6-7 years old and I can confirm from my experience that BMX gives you a fundamental basis in riding., in being in close contact with others. Furthermore, it is ideal for children, it is very accessible."
Tugnolo and the Olympic dream
The choice to dedicate himself to speed is also based on a dream that Tugnolo has thought about for a long time: "I want to go to the Olympics and certainly in speed the path is more practicable. I know it will take time, but I want to follow this dream and I am willing to make any sacrifice to make it happen».
