Even though the Olympics are just around the corner, the Italian track coaches still have a lot to deal with. For example, last week there were the European championships for juniors and under 23s, in Cottbus, which in the last century was one of the main sports centres of East Germany.Italy, with its 20 medals overall, including seven gold, finished third in the medal table, behind the British and the hosts, Germany, confirming that behind the top athletes in Paris lies a whole movement brimming with talent. And it's also exploring long-unexplored territories like sprinting.
Ivan Forty he brought home, in the specific sector, titles and medals, but above all many indications. Yet you can hear from his voice that the great satisfactions have only soothed the regret of not having brought his very young group to Paris.
«When I embarked on this adventure, after having seen the boys' tests I said that I wanted to qualify them for the Games and they thought I was crazy – says the technician from Crema – The reality is that we came close to qualifying and continued to grow, proving that my idea wasn't crazy.We have a very strong national team, at Under 23 level we no longer have any rivals and I emphasized this to the boys after the victory in the team sprint: good, but we are still at the category level, the Elite are stronger and they know it, they are the ones who will have to beat. And they will succeed…».
Last year there were 4 titles, this time in addition to the team sprint title there was also the Predomo in the keirin: are you satisfied?
Yes, because our speed team has changed by half. In the meantime, we now have Moro e White that are Elite, then we lost Tugnolo who chose to focus on road cycling, but in the meantime they have grown Napolitano e MinutesThe team is there and is improving. Among other things, we won on a track that was very different from the standard ones, a 333-metre concrete velodrome., which means that in the team sprint, there was a mile to go for the last member. Doing this without absolute references is not an everyday occurrence.
For his part, Predomo continues to struggle in individual speed…
He pays for being a lightweight, which costs a lot in the qualifying test, the 200 meters thrown, where Compared to those who can throw 90+ kilos from the top of the curve, he has a significant gap.Then in the heats he can compete, but clearly the pairings penalize him. We need to work on it, find the right compromise because in a one-on-one match his agility is a plus.
Behind this team, now that last year's best juniors have passed, what is behind it?
There's a lot of work to do, especially in the smaller categories, rookies, and juniors. The problem is that many kids are then dazzled by their road victories. and they decide not to try anymore. It's a price we pay for our culture, difficult to eradicate. I commissioned the research center to do a statistical study on the best young sprinters of the last 12 years, almost all of them withdrew, not even continuing on the road, victims of the first disappointmentsThe generation of Predomo, Bianchi, and Minuta is the first to want to persist, and I hope that many others will follow suit, following what's happening among women.
In fact, some news has been recorded here…
We won bronze in the junior team sprint with Trevisan, Bianchi e Centi and Trevisan herself finished third in the 500 meters from a standing start. The interesting thing is that they are girls in their first year of the category who want to invest in this discipline and who actually contacted me to join the group.It's clear that I'm just at the beginning, but the fact that the girls themselves want to try, that they ask me to do it is a positive sign and I have to say that working together with Miriam The eveningKnowing that she'll be going to the Olympics is a strong appeal, because they know they can do it too one day, if they believe in it and work hard. A virtuous circle is being created, among women as well as men.
As soon as you returned from Germany, you immediately resumed work in Montichiari with the Villa staff: what kind of atmosphere did you find?
Of the best, the ideal approach to the Games, with the boys focused but at the same time cheerful and playful. They know that it will not be easy to repeat what happened in Tokyo, but the possibilities are there and this time also for womenI am convinced that the medals are within reach, but it's the competition that decides everything. The girls in particular will surprise us: we all know what they've been through, especially the Balsamo, but I can assure you that in these last few days he has been working at a higher level than we expected. Villa In the meantime, he assigned everyone their roles based on their characteristics, even for the other races, and everyone accepted the choices willingly.
And for Vece?
Much will depend on her time in the 200-meter sprint, but I think she could be in the top 10 in sprinting, then we'll have to see what pairings she finds. I'm very optimistic about the keirin, it has the potential to reach the final.He's already done it twice in the World Cup. I'm confident, especially because when you're in the final, anything is possible; the history of the Olympics is full of outcomes that went against all odds...
