It's almost time already Return (17 August – 8 September). The Spanish race is the second major goal of the season for many athletes, including Antonio Tiberi. We had left him under the Arch of Constantine with his shining white shirt at the Roman sunset, arrival of the Tour of Italy.
After a brief, uneventful stint at Dauphiné and a well-deserved rest, the Lazio player has returned to training. And he's doing well. We'll talk about his upcoming Vuelta with Franco Pellizotti, sports director of Bahrain-Victorious, Antonio's team precisely.
Franco, we're off again. Or rather: Tiberi is off again...
We've already started preparing for the Vuelta. As we know, you have to take a long route when preparing for a major Giro. After the Giro, Antonio had a chance to ride through the Dauphiné, but it was just a touch and go, and then he rested. Now he will do Burgos and Vuelta.
Is it up high now?
Yes, it's been at Pordoi since mid-July with other guys from the team who will be competing in Spain. They're almost finished, as they'll be going to the Vuelta Burgos. I had suggested the Pordoi.
Why?
I really liked going up high and I also liked change, trying new places. I have come to the conclusion that Teide in spring and Pordoi in summer are the best. It always depends on your program. For example, if you're coming off the Tour and have to do the Vuelta, or you need to do some altitude to recover, maybe Livigno is better. There, you can disconnect more mentally, there are more distractions (there's also more opportunity to ride on flat terrain, ed.). While places like Pordoi and Teide help you focus. It's a bit like when a priest goes into seclusion! For training, in my opinion, Pordoi is unparalleled.
Why?
You have all the steps at your disposal, you can do 2, 6, 7 hours with the altitude differences you want.In the afternoon, when you need to relax a bit, just sit on a lounge chair in the sun and admire the beauty around you. For example, one day you climb Sasso Pordoi at 3.000 meters, and on your rest day you can go to Canazei. And then there's the important technical aspect.
What?
In Livigno you can take all the climbs from 1.800 meters upwards, while in the Dolomites you can descend quite a bit and still reach high altitudes. But going down means you can do specific jobs better.
We were saying that Tiberi is leaving from Burgos. How will he get there?
It will be a stage leading up to the Vuelta. I don't think he will be a super performer in BurgosBut even if he's at 80 percent, he can do well: he's strong. Plus, before climbing Pordoi, he had some minor physical problems that forced him to miss three or four days of training. So we've seen a few things again, but nothing that will preclude a good Vuelta, on the contrary… the team will be centered around him. Now Antonio has to believe in it too and I'm convinced that mentally he's there.
This is Tiberi's first time doing two Grand Tours: do you find him more curious or worried?
Not worried, but he's such a calm guy that it's hard to see him upset. If anything, he's curious... Even mentally, Antonio is motivated. After his excellent fifth place in the Giro, he's still a little disappointed about the technical problem in Oropa. This is an added bonus, it gives him confidence and morale. When Antonio gets on his bike he's hungry to be seen anyway.
So we're going to the Vuelta for…
With a specific goal: to reach a podium. I repeat, the team will be focused on him. It's a lineup with some rouleurs, to be able to escort him on the flat stages, so to speak, because there won't be much flat terrain at the Vuelta. But there could be a couple of stages with wind risk, so we tried to bring guys who can help him on this terrain too. Then there are some climbers, and finally there's... Damiano (Caruso, ed.) who will be our captain in the race and will follow and guide him in this Vuelta.
Tiberi is the leader, then. He did well at the Giro in this regard...
Exactly, he'll be starting the Vuelta as a captain, too. Plus, as we've seen in the past, the Spanish race is more accessible to a young rider aiming for a GC finish. But this will be a bit of a testing season for him. Let me explain. For the first time he will take part in a second Grand Tour this season. We signed him mid-season last year and followed him closely. We've learned to understand his strengths and weaknesses, and this year we're trying to build his future and ours with him. So let's see how it goes...
With the right amount of pressure, in short. Changing the subject: have you done any reconnaissance of the Vuelta stages?
Not with Antonio, but we have two directors who They've completed two-thirds of the Vuelta. So we're well prepared.
What does Tiberi say instead? Did he tell you a little about his dream of the podium?
Let me tell you this. Our manager had a great idea: to assign each rider on the Vuelta longlist a couple of stages suitable for them to study. Then we could discuss them together in a conference call. Like a tactical meeting in the morning on the bus, when we show the race. They should have put this presentation together in a PowerPoint. Antonio surprised us because he prepared his fractions very well. He spoke truly like a leader. He explained where they had to keep him covered, where his teammates in certain stages would have to recover energy for the following stages… I saw him very, very focused.
In short, there is no shortage of motivation and awareness…
Yes, yes... it's a good bet for him. He's already proven himself to be an excellent rider at the Giro d'Italia. He's shown his talent, but as they say, there's always a difference between words and actions. And that's why, after a good Giro, I believe he's now more confident and at the same time more relaxed. Now he is certain of where he can go. Plus, he's already done two Vueltas, he knows certain racing dynamics, he knows what to expect and this too is an important factor.
