This week Elisa Balsamo, along with the other 402 athletes of the great Italian Olympic expedition, will be in Paris. For Davide plebani instead, we will have to wait another month to compete under the five-ring banner. The multiple world champion's boyfriend reached the qualification milestone together with Lorenzo BernardIn recent days in Ostend (BEL) with the bronze medal in the World Cup he confirmed that the pair is a valid card to play for the podium and for him these days also have the sweet taste of revenge.
The landing at Paralympics He redeems the double Olympics that slipped away from him at the last minute and that left him with wounds that are only now beginning to heal. Speaking with the rider from Sarnico, the satisfaction is evident, but also the very strong charge to bring home something important.
"I'm approaching the most important moment of my career," he begins.We started doing specific track work combined with road distance to get the best condition in both disciplines., which will be reversed compared to the Olympics for able-bodied athletes: first the track and then the road. We will focus a lot on the first and also on the online testWe didn't have much time to prepare for the time trial, but it's clear that we'll try."
There's one thing you have in common with your old teammate Filippo Ganna: you too will be one of the very first Italian forwards to compete...
Yup, The 4.000m pursuit race will be the day after the opening ceremony, I really hope that we, like Filippo, will be lucky next Saturday.On the first day of competition, you have all the attention on you. If you do well, it bodes well for everyone else, whatever discipline they're competing in.
What does getting there mean to you?
It was a very important goal, one of the great achievements of my career. I purposely use the past because now it is instead a stimulus, to win at least one medalIt's definitely the most important event I'll ever take part in. Having achieved this through the trust of the locals gives me further motivation to improve my condition and try to really reach my peak.
How is it different from before?
A lot, because there are two of us here, and this is a huge responsibility. I'm no longer pursuing just personal goals, but shared ones. Lorenzo and I are a team, we work as one.. Then I feel an extra push inside me.
Is there also a desire for revenge for two Olympics missed out on?
A little, I won't deny it. What I like is seeing my efforts, my results, finally be worth something. There was a meritocracy, I felt rewarded for what I'd done, and that, thinking about it, is what I missed in the past. I watched Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 as a spectator after having worked hard and committed myself to qualifying the quartet. In that case, however, my efforts did not find a just reward.
What's more, you've experienced the team's entire journey firsthand, from starting from practically nothing to winning Olympic gold...
Yes, with important moments even before Tokyo such as that edition of the World Cup in which we were travelling at the limits of the world record, which was only missed due to Lamon's unfortunate fallI was there, I was contributing, I could have done it. It's everything that wasn't considered. But that's part of the past; now there's a new horizon for me, and I want to focus on that.
Have you ever heard people around you expressing a different opinion about the Paralympics than about the able-bodied events?
No, because anyone involved in sports knows how much work goes into it and, above all, realizes how high the level is. Let me give just one example: Ganna's world record in the individual pursuit is 3'59". We are travelling at 3'58" in the tandem and it takes a lot of work to get there.It's not that having two people means you're automatically faster, on the contrary. The weight is double, just to be clear. It will be a huge feat to reach the podium, we want to try and we're trying without stress, because the environment helps us, this too is something new for me.
How much was your preparation influenced by what happened to Elisa?
It's hard to say. I was close to her and accompanied her throughout her recovery, paradoxically the worst moment coincided with a moment of less activity on my part, so I was able to be close to her.We shared the recovery, the growth, and we gave each other strength. It was certainly a beautiful but difficult journey, and now it's coming to an end.
No one knows better than you: what condition is it in?
He is aware of what he is doing, of the fact that he had to start practically from scratch and from the beginning we said to each other that the real goal had to be to arrive at August 4th not only in the best possible condition, but aware of having done everything that could be done, without having any regrets.His form is growing day by day, and I know for sure that as soon as he's in Paris, he'll put everything he feels in his head, his legs, and his heart into it. Then we'll see.
