Liam Bertazzo e Michele Scartezzini, two track cyclists on the road. We had seen them at Coppi and Bartali, pedaling under the eyes of the city Marco Villa who had come to Romagna especially for them.
And it is precisely with the parquet coach (at the beginning, with Scartezzini at the back, ed.) that we talk about these two "carriages" of the team that revolves around the quartet of wonders. "Scarte" ran in blue and Bertazzo with the jersey of his team, the Zabù wines.
Marco, how did you see your boys racing?
Liam had done a little more at the start of the season, but he hadn't run his own races for a year and a half. Remember that he was slowed down by a herniated disc. He eventually had to undergo surgery, but he's recovering well. However, since we don't have a team to race on the road, we take advantage of the national team's opportunities, in agreement with Marino Amadori to throw it into the fray. It's something that clearly fits into the Olympic project.
What were their biggest challenges?
They were at their first races. They found the level very high: they struggled a bit with the pace, it wasn't so much that they were track cyclists who switched to road cycling. So, what are Viviani or Consonni? Track cyclists or road cyclists? For me, they're national team athletes. Liam and Michele struggled, because they didn't have any days of running in their legs. And in any case they were no less than many others.
What about distance? Do you have any data to support their increased energy expenditure, given their large muscles?
Yes, the stopwatch! I looked at the standings and saw that they were 10, 20 minutes behind the leaders. But that's normal; as I said, they didn't have that race pace. But then I look at the standings – Villa's tone becomes more serious – and I also see that Hayter won a stage and finished fifth overall: and he is part of the English quartet. This is to say that riding on the road and on the track is now something normal for those who do certain activities.
Why is it important to let him do these races?
In the event of an Olympic call-up, all of them, including Bertazzo and Scartezzini, must be on par with Ganna, agree, Viviani...who race consistently on the road, especially in the WorldTour, it's a matter of aligning the work. There needs to be harmony in this too.
In short, nothing is left to chance... We were struck by a photo of Scartezzini in a time trial: on the track he seems small, on the road a giant.
He put on at least 8 kilos, worked a lot in the gym and He's definitively abandoned the idea of professional road racing. He's now a 100% track cyclist. Obviously, being older, he struggled a lot on the climbs, but it was his choice, a life choice. Now he's part of the military, and this will allow him to have a future even after cycling.
Bertazzo, on the other hand, could even go to the Giro, if he were to be part of the Mareczko train. Would that be a problem for you in terms of Olympic preparation?
A problem? Absolutely not. Viviani and Ganna will also do the Line of BusinessElia had already done the Giro when he won in Rio. I'm the first to tell my kids to do street activities. Hayter for England, Kluge for Germany, Meyer for Australia… this is cycling today.
And how did the kids come out of it? What feelings did they have?
They came out tired, But I can say that this week they did a training course in Montichiari and the quartet was going really well. Ganna and Consonni, who was from Belgium, were also there. Simone told me he had a good feeling. I need ready riders, as I can't have them for 15 days straight every time.
You have refined the method…
For a while now our technique has been this: they run on the road and I immediately have them do some training on the track, They have to react immediately to this kind of effort, and I see they're doing well. The guys like it. And then, on the contrary, they feel good when they get back on the track.
One last question, sir, why did Bertazzo and Scartezzini stop on the final stage of the Coppi e Bartali? Was it agreed upon?
No, there was simply a huge scatter. It turned out to be a very tough race. He attacked a small group from afar with a top-ranked rider in them and they paid the price. But they're not the only ones. Very few have finished it.
