“1 to 1 and the ball is in the center.” Shortly after the conclusion of his winning run at the Tour of Brittany, A message signed by Martina arrives on a colleague's smartphone Alzini. The emojis express all his joy, but who is he referring to with that equal score? Thinking about it, the answer comes immediately: it's Benjamin. Thomas, who this year had achieved victory at the Etoile de Besseges.
As we talk to Martina, references to her life partner, a multiple world track champion, are repeated frequently, and when she does, she powerfully conveys her love. As she opens up, Martina also confides in us about an event that shaped her season and further strengthened their relationship.
«At the beginning of the year my grandfather passed away. – he says – who for me was "the" reference in my life. It was a very hard blow and if I hadn't had Ben with me, if I hadn't felt him by my side, I don't know how I would have managed to continue my business. This, which for me is a job."
How important is his closeness in your profession?
A lot. I've always said it's a constant motivation to improve. That's how I see his successes. He gave me much more on a professional level, but it is nothing compared to the human one.In competition you see him as self-assured, often on the attack, but in life he is completely different, gentle, the kindest person I have ever met. He always gives me advice when I ask him, but he always makes sure to point out that he does not want to interfere in the work of the team's trainer and manager.
If it's your first year on a French team, did Ben help you learn the language?
Yes, and it was essential for communication and teamwork. At home we speak Italian, in fact I often get compliments on how well he speaks our language., but she understood that it was important for me to be able to talk to my classmates and the managers. I had learned a little French at school, but the practice helped me a lot and it's important because it's a really good group, considering it's the first year.
A sprint victory: not exactly your usual cliché…
What can I say… I felt like my legs were going, that it could be the right day, and I threw myself into the sprint. I believed it, I didn't think about my opponents, about who was faster than me on paperI have to thank my two companions, the French Cedrine Kerbaol and the Belgian Alana Castrique who guided me in a big way.
A victory that got a difficult season back on track.
Not because of the change of team or life, not even physically. The problem was the bronchitis that Ben caught at the Tirreno-Adriatico and that he passed on to me.I was very ill, I who had managed to avoid Covid was knocked out by a high fever. It took a while to get out of it and in the meantime the Northern classics had gone. A Ronde de Mouscron With third place, I saw things starting to pick up, and in Brittany I had confirmation of that. But I learned one thing...
What?
To get in shape I need to run, I have to adjust my start-of-season planningFor example, after bronchitis, I restarted from Ghent-Wevelgem and clearly didn't have the legs to keep up, so I ended up withdrawing. I'll keep that in mind for next year.
What kind of race was the Tour de Bretagne?
Very hard. It's true that the level of participation wasn't as high as in the classics, but there were still many big names, just think of Bastianelli, winner of two stages.. Moreover, UAE and Ceratizit presented their best teams, the level was high. The stage I won was the main one, always up and down with a very varied final circuit.
How did the team react to your win? It was Cofidis's first of the season...
It was a celebration. There were comrades who were from around there, and they literally went crazy [celebrations at the opening, photo by Mathilde Lazou, ed.]. I repeat: we make a great group, we work well together.
Then you came from the track trip to Glasgow...
Exactly, it was the first of the new season, and I got along great with Villa. The coach has a lot of experience: he knew about my condition, we talked about it, and he decided to save me from the quartet qualifiers by putting me in the final. He treated me like Martina Alzini and not like a number, just any member of the group and he does the same with everyone. Mentally it helped me a lot, I went home convinced that we had started a beautiful chapter.
You're not in the second test...
I would have gladly gone to Canada, but I have to think about the needs of the team and Villa has understood thisOn Friday and Saturday we will return to Brittany for the two Morbihan races and I hope to do well there too and continue in the moment positive. Also because I know Cofidis wants me to race in both the Giro and the Tour, it's going to be a really tough time. I've made myself available, but I've also said that if after the Giro d'Italia I feel tired and can't give my all for my teammates, then I'll pull out.
Weeks of separation lie ahead between you and Ben…
Yeah, besides, he already knows he'll be at the Tour, so when he finishes I start. But it's our job: luckily we have phones...
