December is, as often happens, a time for taking stock. And the balance sheet also traces it Michele Scartezzini, one of the purest track riders in the squad Marco Villa. A Ghent We saw him at work up close. The other top competitors sought him out. They compared notes with him between tests. A sign of great respect for him. For the Venetian, 31 years old and with a wealth of experience, even in drawing up balance sheets and discussing projects.
Positive balance sheet
Scartezzini's 2023 season was played at a high level, as always, but also suffered a couple of less-than-stellar setbacks: the error in the Madison World Championships final and the broken collarbone.
“I broke my collarbone at the beginning of October,” Michele said, “then it was a great race to recover. I had the Ghent Six Days coming up. Dr. Porcellini operated on me, the same guy who has treated many MotoGP riders. For example, he had operated on Bezzecchi three days after me and a few days later he was on the track in the world championship.
«I haven't lost much in terms of general condition, but certainly in the changes In Ghent I wasn't at my best in terms of shoulder strength."
His season's results are not negative, on the contrary... Scartezzini promotes himself, while admitting some stumbles.
«Ultimately my goals are the Italian championships, the World Cup, the European Championships and the World Championships. Of Italian titles this year with the Blue Flames I won three. In the World Cup I reached the podium. I came second at the European Championships. In preparation for this race, I got sick in Argentina, where we were racing with the national team. And Villa rightly questioned me for the American team. At that point, Viviani had the advantage over me, racing with Consonni. Then Elia also got sick, and I stepped in, and we finished on the podium.
«Then it's true – admits Scarte – I made a bad change in the Madison and we finished ninth. We could have done much better. I'm kicking myself. But I did well in the scratch race and also in the points race, where I replaced Consonni at the last minute."
Testto training
On the road Scartezzini runs in the ranks of the Biesse-Arvedi. For him, the asphalt is truly his training ground. A training ground he constantly renews, even with the national team. After Ghent, “Scarte” had the Six Days of Rotterdam in the mix, but all in all he was also very motivated to go with the Azzurri. And yes, the wages for the Six Days aren't bad at all.
«The Six Days gives you rhythm, but especially in my current condition, it also takes away a lot of strength. Even more so on the track of Kuipke which was short and led you to use very short gear ratios. So I'm very happy to go on retreat with the boys to put in a good amount of work». Villa takes everyone to Spain.
Dreaming of Paris
But December is also the ideal time to look forward. 2024 is the year of the Olympics.
We already have a draft of our schedule for next season, including races and training sessions in Montichiari. Of course, we don't know the exact days, but we do know the periods. This is very important for building up the load and working on strength.
The national team is his true family. But Michele is perhaps the one who pays the highest price for the limited number of athletes that a nation can bring to the Olympics.The quartet takes up many seats and in fact only one remains available for the other rehearsals.
“It’s difficult for me,” Scartezzini told us, “I’m aware of that. I'm the first to say that the quartet is untouchable. What we saw in the race is what gives us the most certainty. But like in Madison, I've always been there.
Before Tokyo, we formed two quartets, a very important test. One consisted of me, Ganna, Lamon, and Bertazzo. The other consisted of Consonni, Plebani, Milan, and Stefano Moro. We did it in 3'44", practically the world record, and they did it in 3'48". There were four of us. That's to say I was there at that pace. And I think if I can train well and without any problems, I can still be there. If anything, the unknown is seeing if I can reproduce that performance for three rounds."
The most suitable test for Scartezzini might be the American one. And he knows it well. For several years he has been one of the best performers of this discipline"I've been there for five years, always with the best in the world. I'd really like to run it in Paris and maybe bring a medal to Italy. But with all this call-up stuff, it's a big mistake for me."
