2023 gave us the opportunity to meet a new team: the Q36.5 Pro Cycling team. La Swiss professional which also makes use of the consultancy of a champion such as Vincenzo NibaliAmong the team's riders, the name of stands out Alessandro Fedeli, not so much for the results, it's still too early, but for its history. Similar to that of those who like him ran in Gazprom but equally different.
Yet another restart
Fedeli's season began on January 30 in the heat of the Saudi desert. The Venetian was immediately placed in the group to find his form and brilliance again. Qualities that only racing can give you.
"In Arabia," Fedeli begins, "I caught a virus, I think it was food-borne. Now I'm fine, I'm on antibiotics but… I will still go to France to race the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du VarI did well in Saudi Arabia, I could have done better on some occasions but I need to rebuild my feeling with the road. I would have preferred to start a little better in terms of results, even if I'm fit and I feel good. These races at the beginning of the year will help you put some miles into your legs., something I've missed in recent seasons.
"I've practically forgotten how to run (laughs, ed.) It seems like a joke, but it's true. I miss the confidence you only get when you're in a group for a long time. After six months without seeing the finish line, it's not easy to remember how to sprint.We need to take stock again: when to leave, what wheels to get, the gear ratios and everything else."
A continuous misadventure
Fedeli's career, once he turned professional in 2019, had the feel of something new. There was a great deal of excitement about showing off his skills and competing against stronger riders.
«The first year at Delko – says the Venetian from Negrar – it went well, I did seventy days of runningThen came Covid, practically a wasted year, thirty-five days of competition and the first slowdown in my growth. The following year there was the failure and that's an even harder blow than the one from GazpromI was mentally destroyed, thanks to the non-existent team. On top of all this, what you already know about 2022 was added. At my age (Fedeli is 26, ed.) it's not easy to cope with all this, career-wise you realize you haven't had much experience.
«I haven't raced a Grand Tour yet, and we all know how important a step that is.A cyclist is made. You can have all the talent in the world, but it only matters so much. Much of the growth comes from having a stable program and good health. I've had some bad luck in recent years. I don't like to use this word but when the first team fails and the other one comes closed by the UCI, why did they have us sent home, without hesitation, this is the truth. In short, you feel unstable, not serene."
Reconstruction
For Fedeli, Q36.5 feels like the happy place he's dreamed of during these years of constant setbacks. Now he's back with the Swiss team, even if he won't forget the past.
"When everything goes wrong," he says, "you can't get over it easily, you think everything is negative. You're scared in races, and each one feels like the last of your career, you have no certainties. I feel like I still have that fear, it's not easy to get rid of it.But everything has to change, and only time will heal this wound of mine. We need to regain faith, in everything and everyone, and now I'm starting to find it again, even in the cycling system. With the Q36.5 I found some happiness again, I started off with a nice winter, just the way I like itI met the team coach, Michelusi, and I immediately got along well; we're on the same wavelength.
"I'm 100% focused on what I want, with a lot of determination; there's no other way. I have to do my part and seize the moment. Now I feel like I'm in the right place at the right time. I want to test myself and take those knocks that are good for me, to grow.The calendar that Q36.5 will be doing is pretty full, we recently learned that we will be doing the Amstel. I will finally be doing some important races, from the program I have Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Amstel itself, this last one is the most suitable for me. I can't wait, it's only the beginning."
