No time to celebrate the excellent campaign of the European Championships in Trento, closed with Colbrelli's gold and first place in the continental medal table, which The Italian national team is already heading to Flanders for the World CupThe Italian time trialists' expedition will be the first to set off on Thursday 16th September (tomorrow), given that The World Championships will open on Sunday 19th with the professional time trial. Along with the Azzurri, in addition to Marco Villa, there will be Marco Velo.
The route – rather linear in the first part and more tortuous in the second – will start from Knokke-Heist (the casino area on the North Sea beach), pass through Damme (where the official village is located) and arrive in the heart of Bruges in the square of 't Zand after 43,3 kilometers. The altimetric profile is suitable for pure specialists, the total difference in altitude is 78 metres, while two intermediate checkpoints are scheduled after 13,8 and 33,3 kilometers. The first athlete will depart at 2:30 PM, the last at 4:06 PM.
Filippo Ganna will be the last to start. And it is precisely thanks to his status as reigning champion, Italy will be able to field three Azzurri players instead of the traditional two. In addition to the Verbanese of Vignone there will also be Edoardo Affini and Matteo Sobrero, respectively vice and Italian champion of the specialty. All three already seen at work at the European Championships in Trento.
Marco, one event over, another. Just enough time to celebrate.
Yes, we had to postpone the time to properly celebrate all the European Championship medals. We need to focus on the world time trialAs soon as we arrive in Belgium, we'll do the traditional reconnaissance of the route and begin to delve deeper into everything.
How do we get there? With what certainties? Let's start with Sobrero.
We bring riders who give guarantees, We are happy to bring three of them and they can all do very wellIt's only right that Matteo competes against the best specialists around in an important event like the World Championship. He is the Italian champion and so far he has had a good first season with a nice fourth place in the Milan time trial at the Giro. A few days ago in the Mixed Team Relay time trial he went strong giving a solid contribution to the gold medal.
Related?
Affini has been very strong all year, setting great time trials. He was very unlucky because he always found someone who was just slightly better than him., but his time trials at Tour of Italy (second and third, ed.), at the Italian championship, at the Tour of Denmark and at the Benelux Tour (fourth and second respectively, ed.) demonstrate his growth. Not to mention the great finisher act he did in Verona where only a great sprint by Nizzolo beat him in the photo finishHe needs to believe in his potential a little more and find a little more competitive spirit. I hope he gets the result he deserves soon.
And Ganna?
For him, the European was a transitional stage, albeit an important one, for the world championshipAnd let's not forget that Pippo had to work this year to get three peaks of form, which is not at all easy with modern cyclingGiro d'Italia with two victories and excellent support for Bernal, the Olympics where he first ran a great time trial on a course unsuitable for his size and then on the track where we all saw what he did. Finally Europeie world championships.
Some people were disappointed with their continental silver medal. Do you think they were too?
Everyone always expects great results from Pippo, but he's young and above all human too. He's not a machineWe actually have to cheer him up a bit because he always wants to do his best, but both Villa and Cassani and I we took turns telling him that he couldn't do any better at the European Championships.He did everything he had to do, he gave it his all and at that point he's losing for a few seconds. I know he's pretty good at resetting after defeats and focus immediately on the new goal. It will be the same in Belgium.
What will their introductory training be like?
Ganna won't have to do anything special. He played the European road race because after Tokyo he hadn't raced much and needed to recreate a solid baseSobrero and Affini, on the other hand, will still do some more specific work, but the differences will be minimal.
Do you see any parallels with last year, at least in terms of sensations?
I'd be inclined to say no, honestly. There were no Olympics, the season had resumed in August and had been rather unpredictable.
In a press conference after the European Championships time trial, Ganna replied that almost all the top athletes were there and that he's particularly worried about Dennis. But the Australian won't be the only one there.
Exact, Trento's quality level was high, but let's also add Van Aert. The challenge will be very open and very interesting. We hope it smiles on us.
You were a time trialist and won the World Team Time Trial with the juniors in Athens in 92. What advice would you give to the three guys?
Di leave with peace of mind, knowing you've done your best To get to this event, be as well-prepared as possible. Then, everything will be analyzed only at the end of the race.
Before we wrap up. Cassani's term is coming to an end, but that doesn't mean all the other positions will be changed. What do you personally expect?
I've had a great time with the national team over the years, and we've achieved some good results. I don't hide the fact that I would also like a different role., maybe work with young people, but more simply I would like to continue to be part of the blue staffOf course, a victory would do everyone good.
