David Ballerini he was one of the "all-round" protagonists of this Giro d'Italia. It went strong everywhere. From the plains to the sea. From Hungary to the Dolomites. It was Mark Cavendish himself to publicly thank him on the shores of Lake Balaton for the quantity and quality of the work done to ensure his success. And on the day of the Fedaia Pass, he was still pushing ahead.
Pushing even though the Marmolada stage certainly wasn't "his" stage, it almost seemed a shame to waste that good condition. It's a shame not to use all that leg. So he might as well try, even if he knew he wouldn't make it.
Davide, how do you archive your Giro?
I'm sorry I didn't win a stage, That's for sure. Unfortunately, I spent the first week and a half with legs that weren't the best. I got them back towards the end. But towards the end, the stages were really tough for me. So—throw your hands up—that's it.
You did a fantastic job on the day of Fedaia and also towards Castelmonte. In hindsight, could things have gone differently if you'd spent less?
Yes, it could have gone differently, but I wouldn't dwell on it too much. As I said, all those climbs were too hard for me, especially the last one, Fedaia, with its steep gradients. I felt my weight there. I tried to give it my all. Vansevenant, but unfortunately he didn't have a good day. That's how it went. The important thing is to be there, to have tried and to have had the energy. And the same thing goes with Mauro (Schmid, ed.), unfortunately this is cycling.
When you see yourself performing well on courses you're not familiar with, does that change your mindset? Does it broaden the range of races you're comfortable with?
It always depends on what you're training for: a classic, an uphill race... I remember last year at the start of the season, when I was thinking about the classics, I was around 80-81 kilos, but I still won. Yes, I can say that I am open to many types of paths, but not the most specific ones (like a super flat stage, or a climbing one, ed.).
Exactly, you're good everywhere...
Maybe I'm better at slower stages, though. the problem is precisely this: that I go fast almost everywhere. For riders like me, "half and half," winning is never easy. If you're a pure sprinter, you say, "Okay, I'll sprint." And 80-90% of the time, you win and can then catch up. If you're a climber, if you have the right watts in your legs, you take on the climb, stick to your parameters, and you're sure to stay ahead. Someone like me, on the other hand, has to seize the moment, has to be well at the right time and everything is more complicated. He must have the perfect day.
Effectively…
And even in the escape, you have to be lucky enough to find the right men. In short, it's not entirely up to you. It's not easy.
But in these cases the team "laughs", knowing they have the perfect team player...
Well yes, the team always has a wild card to play, he has the second card, the spare one…
Specialization: good or bad?
The "Ballero" wasn't bursting with joy in Verona. And understandably so. Even the routes, when they were bumpy, were perhaps still tough. For someone like him, the only real draw could have been on the day in Jesi, when he won. Girmay. Oh, Naples, but it's possible that one day you won't be able to catch the breakaway. Or that, as he himself said, in the first part of the Giro he wasn't brilliant.
In any case, we're talking about one or two stages out of 21. These are the "problems" of modern cycling. Super specialized.
But it's a shame that an athlete like him couldn't have had more space. Davide showed himself to be as generous as few others. He was also a team player in the breakaway. This happened in Genoa, Castelmonte, and on the Marmolada. And on the other days he worked for Cav. He's right, you need the perfect day and, above all, you need to know what's coming.
"Who knows," concludes the "Dancer," "the wheel turns... The important thing is to be there... always."
