In ten days, it will be a Wednesday, It will be twenty years since Pantani's deathTime flies, but since Marco's death the days have been slow and ferocious, like the plow that breaks the clods and leaves deep furrows behind. Anyone who knew him has to deal with it every day., others climb on top as needed.
Pogacar and Pantani
It seems like they're ashamed of it. When you hear that pogacar he doesn't know very well who he wasOn the one hand, you might agree with him: he's not Italian and was born two months after Pantani's triumph in Paris. But if you're the world's number one and you're about to attempt the double feat that was last achieved by an Italian whose history you don't know, then Maybe someone on your team could tell you about it.. It wouldn't be a bad thing, on the contrary. And you'd catch everyone off guard by demonstrating that you've studied it. the calendar and tactics.
Instead, in this intentionally keeping it on the margins, there is something anomalous, almost as if the past in which all or almost all the managers of the current WorldTour teams have been involved is an embarrassment which is best left unrecalled. Freud said that children must (metaphorically) kill their fathers to grow up, but cycling hasn't done this. It has preferred to forget or try to do so, keeping fathers in their place and letting their children come to terms with their past.
Percentages to read
Pantani's story could offer us many insights. His sacrifice occurred when he was so high up that the fall was terrifying. But those who were there and knew him when he was still Marco remember... his doubts about an environment that, yesterday as today, looked at the athlete and not the manIn those years the critical issues were of one kind, today they are different but no less urgent. Yesterday, the selection among young people was made with a predisposition for compromise, today it is based on their nervous resistance.
They raise them to be powerful and cunning. They select them based on the engine's wattage. They capitalize on the exuberance and superficiality of 18-year-olds.They take them from the cradle and put them on the assembly line. They move them into rental homes, seeking tax advantages. And if in the end some succeed, their silhouette will be large enough to overshadow those who in the meantime did not make it And they came back defeated and drained. When enough years have passed to compile statistics, we'll understand what this pursuit of the best young players has led to.
The weight of expectations
Who knows what psychologists think when they deal with the kids of the most recent wave. What training do they have? i athletic directors and coaches of adolescents which, at the expense of already formed physical structures, have a maturity still in progress? And how are their fragilities managed?, which inevitably crop up in the face of failure or difficult times? Are they talked about or swept under the rug?
La Journal of Sport wrote that Pellizzari would be directed towards the new Bora-HansgroheA consistent path, after three years in the pros, but that's not the case for everyone. IERI (Yesterday) Viezzi won the cyclocross world championship: a discipline now under scrutiny for its ability to launch excellent athletes. How many people will the Friulian have on him already during this second season as a junior? Or is there Federica Venturelli, called to give his best on the road, in cross-country, at university and on the track, so much so that despite his 19 years of age, his name is even being circulated in Olympic hopes. Is it really as easy as it seems to balance all his commitments?
Happiness and stress
Rastelli he stopped running, talking about stress. He had done it before him Gabriele Benedetti and a year ago it was the turn of Mattia Petrucci, a new professional, who spoke of lost happiness. He stopped Raccani, engaged to Soudal-Quick Step and then moved to Eolo-KometaOthers, having turned pro too early or not yet ready, have been rejected and returned to the continental championships. One might argue that while the weakest are giving up, there are many others who resist: the exponents of a selected race. Maybe that's the case, are we all convinced that it's right?
Bandanas and books
In ten days, it will be a Wednesday, and it will be twenty years since Pantani's death. We chose to talk about it now to delve deeper into a topic and not get too carried away. in the wave of those who for the occasion will take out the bandana and the souvenir photoThe writer knows well who Marco was. Writings and covers that sell him once again have already appeared in the shop windows. But What part of his message was grasped, understood and put to good use? How did the riders of those years, now sports directors, oppose the trafficking of young riders?
Finally, waiting for Pogacar to try to double Pantani and move even further away (if he succeeds) the memory of the Italian of Cesenatico, little has really changedThe bikes are different, the calendars, preparation, and nutrition have changed. Training camps are held at high altitude, and everything is described through numbers and parameters. But at the base there are always young men and young women, each with its own story to tell, crushed by the squadrons' pharaonic budgets. These powerful and armored structures are screwed onto their still-tender flesh. Just keep this in mind and then choose to move forward.
