European Track Championships for Juniors and Under 23s in Cottbus, Germany they were a real triumph for Italian cycling. Never before had we had such a dominance in the medal table: 14 gold medals with the hosts Germany five points behind, also leading in total medals won, 27, still five more than Russia, who returned in force (although still under the heading of Neutral Individual Athletes).
The premises were very positive, but certainly not in these terms. Marco Villa, responsible together with Diego Bragato of the Elite girls was in Cottbus and followed the whole event closely, judging the six days of competition from the height of her very long experience in the field and the loot doesn't surprise him that much.
«We know that we work well with the juniors, We have developed a methodology that has made us excel for yearsIt depends on the kids, but also on the collaboration of the teams and families; without their sacrifices, nothing could be done. This system has allowed us to earn the respect and trust of the teams, who give us riders who cost them a lot and expect them to be competitive again after 3-4 days on the track. They see what happens at the highest levels, the successes of the generation of Viviani, Ganna, Milan and they leave the boys there for 1-2 weeks, which is the time these championships require."
Is this a discussion that also has repercussions on the under 23s?
Certainly, but we were already better prepared there because it's a four-year-old category, we had second- and third-years who have matured a lot, who have already competed with the Elites. Predomo is in the fourth year, the Venturelli in third place and already Elite world champion, we already knew we had a certain level here.
The striking thing is that we were protagonists everywhere, in all categories and specialties…
This is where we see confirmation that the methodology works, because it has allowed us to work across all sectors. We started with Viviani's medal in the omnium over 10 years ago, then the Olympic gold medal in the quartet, then the world gold medal in the women's event. The Federation had decided to invest heavily in speed specialties as well, and Quaranta's enthusiasm meant that this sector too grew significantly.
It's not just a question of elements though…
No, it also concerns the technical part. We managed to have increasingly competitive materials, thanks also to the sponsors with Pinarello which improves our bikes every four years, the wheels, the contributions of Campagnolo, VittoriaWe're constantly testing new and increasingly cutting-edge equipment. In short, we're leaving nothing to chance, and since Tokyo, when we won the gold medal by a tenth, we've adopted the meticulous attention to detail needed to be competitive at this level.
Were you scared by Venturelli's fall?
He has accustomed us to being scared… She'd decided to come at the last minute because the Baloise was canceled as a team program. Since she's a bit unaccustomed to it, we tried to have her do specialties that weren't terribly risky.She was in good form, given her gold medals in the pursuit and points race. Perhaps the only risky thing was elimination from the omnium, but she didn't get there. She crashed in the scratch race while riding behind, running over others who had fallen in front. She couldn't do anything.
Did he make any technical errors?
Absolutely not. He was going slowly, but on a concrete track, when you fall, you always get abrasions. He hit his head and neck. Yesterday he sent me a photo with a neck brace to wear for two or three days to help him recover better. A bit unlucky, but she's always good at being there and the results show that her value is beyond discussion.
Without ranking all the riders, Padovan was quite impressive for his results: gold in the quartet, gold in the omnium, and a narrow silver in the Madison. As an experienced observer, what were your impressions?
He's a good guy, fast, even resistant, he moves well in group races, he doesn't have the physique of Ganna and Milan, but he also did his part in the quartet. He's the perfect athlete for the Olympics, where the boys have to be strong in the quartet but also know how to do omniums and Madisons. Viviani and Consonni teach.
How much did Russia's return influence?
Individually it was there before too. They have always worked, based in Spain or around Europe and have always competed as neutral athletes both on the road and on the track.When they arrive, you can see that they work intensely on the Moscow track, even if they don't have high-level international activity.
Were you a little disappointed by the British?
No, because it's the year they have the Commonwealth Games and they're focused on those.In fact, they didn't show up as quartets, but only as individuals and couples in the Madison. Those who were there were competitive.
Based on your experience, does the fact that so many young people have emerged at this event give you more optimism about how the Italian track will evolve?
We're working towards this, but we're aware that these results are just a starting point. To excel on the track, however, we need to make significant and consistent progress. We won in Tokyo with the world record, three years later we went down two steps and the record went to others.It's normal, we always have to improve and never stop, but we know we have many elements to work on to make them grow.
