When it became clear that Citracca would not take it back and that the other words would remain as such, faced with the prospect of quitting again, Manuel Bongiorno decided to trust James Mitri, a very young New Zealand teammate with whom he had bonded during the season.
«You already know everything about my plan to create a team in 2022 – James told him in early December – so why not move things forward and leave immediately with a continental?».
Twenty-one is a young age to do what he had in mind, but what did they have to lose? There were, and still are, legions of riders on the market looking for a jersey. So Bongiorno accepted. The documentation was ready in three weeks and then came the UCI registration.
"We've been talking about it for a long time," Bongiorno explains. "Covid brought everything forward. We trained for a month and talked until two in the morning. He's 21, but he's shouldered everything. I'm giving him a hand." for passion and for opportunity that all this can be. He's surrounded himself with great people, who will help him a lot when he starts running. Because he still wants to run anyway."
Born in London
James Adriano Mitri was born in London from New Zealand parents on February 28, 1999, he is 1,78 m tall and weighs 60 kg. Since two uncles represented New Zealand in hockey, they write the local news that his ambition has always been reach the national cycling teamClimber, as an amateur he raced with the British team JLT Condor, then he turned professional in Spain in 2018 with Burgos BH and from there in 2020 he landed at Zabù-Ktm Wines.
"I've had the idea or dream of forming a team for a long time," he says in a three-way video call. "All things considered, the continental move will be good to take pressure off the youngstersAnd since I'm young too, it will be good for me too. I've built a management team around me that can support me and move forward independently. Sponsors will be announced next week as will the names of the bikes. with which we will run."
Zaugg in the flagship
The roster will be announced little by little. Mitri speaks with enthusiasm and the light-heartedness of a twenty-year-old.
"There will be two South American riders," he says, "one brought by Paolo Alberati. There will be young and very strong track cyclists." We will have Italian riders and others from Northern EuropeWe will be a mix of nationalities and in honor of the continents of the world we will call ourselves Global6 Cycling.
Bongiorno will be a rider for results and a point of reference for the less experienced. The operational base will be in Lugano and our first Oliver Zaugg will be the sporting director, who I met when he was still at Iam Cycling and I was 15 years old."
Director in the running
The riders will be announced in stages, following the same format as the Eolo-Kometa.
"We're making decisions right now for the Italians," says Bongiorno, who feels deeply involved in the project, "but for now he prefers not to name names. We had an almost definitive listYes, but when James made the announcement on social media, others stepped forward. The project is interesting, and we're grateful to those who chose to help us right away, even if it was just a message. For me, all of this can also become a ferry for the afterI could have said no, but what prospects would I have had? I know I'm no longer 25 and that I could no longer have the chance to achieve great results, but I can certainly help younger people."
Pickup in Mallorca
Mitri says that the program, Covid permitting, includes the retreat in Mallorca for February. Your twenties can also be the harbingers of excessive enthusiasm: creating a team is not easy and there have been many attempts, more or less clear, which over the years have suddenly left hordes of riders without bikes, from the Hungarian project to the more recent Team Monti.
«I understand the skepticism – says Mitri – but we want create a group to develop talent. Build a team with a sustainable model and commit to going professional in 2022 and then work hard to earn wildcard spots for 2023."
We end the call with his smile and quiff waving from across the Channel. Bongiorno greets us with his Tuscan accent. We're left with a few questions and the agreement, therefore, to speak again soon.
