«The Sanremo was beautiful – says Bettini – because finally we saw, on a course that was certainly not perfect for its qualities, that the current number one in cycling can be beaten. We take this feeling home with us. The really exciting part, I speak as an Italian, was seeing Ganna who didn't jump head firstHe dropped back two or three times. He struggled with every move, but his mind was already on the finish line, meaning he knew what he had to do. It's a shame he's not used to finding himself in a sprint like this too often; I think this one against Van der Poel was the first time..."
Paolo Bettini is touring Italy with his partner Marianella Bargilli, working behind the scenes of the Tour of ItalyIt sounds like a play on words, but it isn't. For the fourth consecutive year, RCS Sport is producing the videos of Giro Express, which describes the locations touched by the Giro d'ItaliaThey've already been to Albania, they were in Rome when we spoke on Tuesday. The trip lasts 45 days and so the Sanremo finale, Paolo saw it on his cell phone during one of his tripsAnd we couldn't help but ask him. Partly because he also won the Sanremo in 2003 with a three-man sprint, even though one of the other two was his friend and lieutenant Paolini. And partly because His reading of a sprint like the one on Via Roma is one of those that leaves you without any doubts, because it takes you into the minds of the three protagonists.
It was said about Ganna and the sprint.
It's clear that it was the first of a certain level. Maybe the result wouldn't have changed, though. speaks one who invented the impossible to beat the strongest opponentsI know I've lost, so I forget about Pogačar on my wheel, and Van Der Poel alone on the roadside, I won't even send him there dead. I'd rather get in his pocket. The sprint alongside Van der Poel, one on the right and one on the left, is not done.
Why?
We both get wind, but I spent more because I've already been back three timesAnd I'm off to sprint with you, who are stronger than me, with the wind in my face and Via Roma blowing a bit upwards? Not even dead, but we justify such a strong Ganna, we give him a great justification like we did in school. Because he did a number just by being there with the two current cycling phenomena. We can say that Ganna is here and we are getting ready for a very interesting month of April, because I really want to enjoy a Ganna like this in Roubaix.
Was it Ganna who made the mistake or was Van der Poel smarter to start so long?
Let me explain the psychology of a sprint like this. Van der Poel is the strongest, but it is located at the head, therefore in the wrong position. It's also fair, because he's the fastest and his opponents have outwitted him. Ganna, who has returned, goes looking for him and finds himself in the best position. And what does Van Der Poel do? He moves all the way to the right, looking at them, as if to say: what are we doing?And they let him do it. Ganna didn't follow, Pogacar followed Ganna's wheel, and Van Der Poel found himself alone.
What could Ganna do?
Look, Via Roma, when it's completely clear of cars and cordoned off left and right, is almost 9 meters wide. If I'm Ganna and we're even – but they weren't because Van der Poel was slightly ahead – to compensate and come to find you, I can do my sprint, knowing that I have Pogacar on my wheelOr I'll go wide, but Van der Poel will spot me because we're parallel. But he's faster and beats me. And I'm definitely missing Pogacar too. If I don't get on his wheel right away, I've lost the sprint.
In fact, Van der Poel anticipated everyone…
He is the fastest and did what no one expected: As long as you think about it, I'll give you a heads up and then come get me if you can...Mathieu is much more explosive. When he started, he took 3 meters away, and how do you close it? Also because he's not just anyone, he's the strongest sprinter, you can't catch him. And then another thing: How many sprints of this type, won and lost, did Van der Poel do? And how many sprints of that kind, won and lost, did Ganna do? In my opinion he was the first real sprint he found himself managing.
What about Pogacar?
He did everything to get them off and he even spent a lot. He's fast, but not at Van der Poel's level.. He also got a bit lost in the sprint, like when he lost the first Tour of Flanders, again to Van der Poel, but that's because he's not a sprinter. He doesn't have the eye to handle two opponents in a sprint of that type, a bit like Ganna, maybe a little more.
Your 2003 sprint was different, there was no slowdown, but one of the other two was Paolini…
It was completely different. I didn't have a teammate with me, but the other captain who managed everythingIt was easy, so to speak. Down from the Poggio and onto the Aurelia, Paolini didn't give up an inch. We went full steam ahead in the last two corners, and Gerva never stopped pushing. He kept going at 50 miles an hour until I sprinted off.
Can we say that it was a great experience for Ganna?
Huge, as it would be to go to Flanders and take the measure of the route and the opponents. You will see that If he arrives in Via Roma the same way next year, whoever moves to the other side of the street, he will follow. We have a very respectable Ganna, so we forgive him for that sprint and look forward to seeing him at Roubaix.
