There are only a few hours left until the Giro, but in this spring that heralds summer and brings its warmth, we must also keep our eyes on the Olympic scenarioIn the last few days we have given a glimpse of what could happen in the Italian team in Paris, with Viviani registered as a road racer to deliver an extra man to Villa. In this way Bennati, who has only three men to choose, will have to reduce the selection to two names. The Olympic cause comes first, but for Italy and its history all this sounds rather unusual.
Four names from France
In France, things are different, with the French having experienced a season of strange things in 2021 in Tokyo. Three years ago, Alaphilippe refused to go to the Olympics for the imminent birth of his son NinoWhile Cavagna, who was mainly called up for the time trial, didn't even pretend to be interested in the road and retired after just a few kilometers. In short, Thomas Voeckler should be calm, but instead he is struggling to identify the four names (one more than us) with which the French will run in Paris.
"Spring," explains the Frenchman (instagram photo with Sagan at the top), "didn't reassure me. We've had some excellent performances, but given the altitude of the Olympic race, they won't be enough to win a medal. lenny martinez, who has won a lot and well, will not be there because the path is not made for his qualitiesWe won't be the best at the start, because for all the older players in the group the Games have become a priority. Van Aert was ready to give up the Tour to win gold: something that was impossible two or three Olympics ago. Four of us will run, but we won't be among the favorites."
Runners off
There aren't many names of great French riders, at least not those capable of competing in a race like the Olympic one. And the two best cards – Laporte and Valentin Madouas at the Games – they are coming out of a not particularly fortunate period.
"We must understand that this Olympic race," Voeckler added to L'Equipe, "will be unique. It won't be a classic, a stage of the Tour, a sixth Monument, or another World Cup. It will be special. We will have four riders in a group of 90 for over 270 kilometersNothing will be impossible, but it's a given that a climber won't win. I hear a lot of criticism about the small size of the group, but I'm amused by it. These are the Games, it's not meant to be a normal race. I have my own idea of how we will approach this Olympic race. Montmartre will be fun, but it will come after more than 200 kilometers of racing, like the Poggio at Milan-San Remo, but without a team to protect you. I've already been to see the circuit several times and I will do so again, because it's very difficult to understand the difficulty of this final circuit."
Unpredictable race
The last Italian Olympic road medal was won by Bettini in Athens 2004. Paul won twelve years later Fabio Casartelli in Barcelona, when curiously enough three people ran equallyThe last time France won medals was the team gold and Geyre's silver, at Melbourne 1956 when the road gold went to Baldini.
Paris with the new face imposed by the IOC on cycling will be an anomalous parenthesis in the international scenarioThis will ensure that the race can be decided by the first determined attack or by waiting until the Montmartre circuit. No one will be able to control it, so the technicians will take all the time they can. It will be a matter of picking the most successful riders, putting them together, and hoping they recognize each other.
