Santiago Umba, yet another face of an increasingly younger professional cycling. In fact, very young. The Colombian of theAndroni Giocattoli Sidermec He's not yet 19, he'll turn 19 in November. In Alsace he already achieved his first victory as a pro and he did it on a climb that is a symbol of cycling and very dear to us Italians: the Planche des Belles Filles.
A serious, polite boy (this could be Umba's "keyword"), and clearly very strong. His teammates speak to us about him, those who see him both in the group and outside.
Not just a climber
«Sometimes it makes things seem easy that aren't easy – says the most experienced Alessandro Bisolti You're going full throttle, and he's right next to you, throwing a stone and running away. I'm not here to talk about watts, numbers, and values—that's not my place—but for an 18-year-old, he runs really well. He's always there for the decisive moments. And yes, he's strong on the climbs, but he's also fast. On short climbs and steep sections, it's probably even faster than on long climbs. And that's a good thing, considering modern cycling."
Bisolti sees him in a group. He talks about a boy who isn't afraid to jump into a fight, which is quite a feat for his age.
«Okay, cycling has changed – in Livigno I even saw some students doing high altitude cycling – but when I was 18 I was doing the Campanile race in Brescia and he won at the Planche. But What I like most about Umba is how he looks off the bike – Bisolti continues – In 12 years of professionalism I have seen many riders, but Santiago makes you pour your heart out for him. When I got home, I told my wife Sara: Umba is incredibly kind and well-mannered. It's impossible not to help him as much as possible. In the last stage he fell and we waited for him. He was all broken and at the end of the stage he said to us: 'Sorry I made you work hard.' Or when he was leading the general classification: 'Can you pull?' I've never seen him complain about anything: the long journeys, the bike, the food, which, especially when you go to France, is never great.
Young riders but motivated
We will discuss this at length with Bisolti, the most experienced of our teammates. Alessandro has a keen eye. The Brescian hasn't been at Androni for long and isn't that familiar with South Americans. Having been at Nippo-Fantini, he's more familiar with Russians and Asians, so the only fitting comparison is with Soda.
"Santiago, however, is more complete: he's faster on the flats. If he maintains these physical characteristics and this character, he could do very well. And then he's a guy who listens. You talk to him and you really see that he processes what you're telling him. And he puts it into practice.
"He's very motivated. A few nights ago we were talking about being away from home. I told him I don't know if I could live without my family for three months straight, with my wife and kids. He he replied: but I, Alessandro, like running!
Baby face, champion legs
Another of those who has been closest to Umba in his first European season is Simone Ravanelli. Ravanelli also talks about a boy who always thanks, who is polite
«Umba is an atypical Colombian – explains Simone – He is not one of the typical “full of life” South Americans, but is more quiet and introverted. The first time I saw him was this winter at the training camp in Alassio. I was struck by his childlike face. You could tell he was 18 years old. For example, we also have... ponomar He's 18, but he's a man. Santi is a "kid"! They told me about him. malucelli e Tagliani who had seen him a few weeks earlier because they had ridden the Vuelta al Tachira with him. They had told me he was pedaling well, very well."
Ravanelli's technical assessment is also very interesting. And here we discover an Umba who still needs some work on his tactics. Because if what Bisolti says is true—that he's not afraid to throw himself into the fray—it's also true that he needs to do it better.
«For me – says Ravanelli – he needs to gain a little more confidence in the group. For example, in Alsace he crashed twice in the final stage. And then he's often behind. It's also a question of mentality. You carry it forward, but it struggles to stay there. It also happened to Coppi and Bartali, who fell when they were in the top positions. But the good thing is that he listens to advice. And he's young and baby-faced, but physically he's quite mature. Look at his legs: they're in good shape. And he still has room for growth. Plus, he doesn't overindulge. He lives the "right life," but without overdoing it, like in his diet, for example."
Explosiveness and dirt roads
And they also talk to us about margins, education and the desire to do things Mattia Bais and the sports director John Ellena, with whom Umba is at altitude in Gressoney these days.
"Umba," Bais says, "is a quiet boy. He's nice and friendly. What struck me about his cycling profile is that he is very strong on climbs, but at the same time he is also explosive. He's still very young but he's already showing a lot."
Giovanni Ellena, a brilliant coach with a refined sensibility, is working to reduce those margins and help him grow in the best possible way. Giovanni is following him in the mountains. And sometimes the stimuli also come through small "program changes", Perhaps making a virtue of necessity. The boys head out for training. They run their miles, their runs, and then to get back to the hotel they have to take a ski lift. But that doesn't exactly take them to their destination. With backpacks and sneakers on, they climb the final stretch... by bike.
"It's a very steep stretch," says Ellena. "The hotel is at 2.450 meters. The cable car starts at 1.700 meters and reaches 2.350 meters. Then you ride the last 100 meters of elevation gain on a dirt road."
