Amid the flurry of new national team appointments at the beginning of November, there was also a domino effect affecting the women's team. Of the staff of the city Paolo Sangalli (for years “vice” of Dino Salvoldi and his natural successor) Rossella Callovi is still part of it, this time as a technical collaborator in the road sector for juniors and elites.
For the thirty-year-old from Val di Non – who has been living in Trento for two years, where she works at the barracks of the 2nd Alpine Engineer Regiment (pictured above with Letizia Paternoster in the Ossola photo) – it is an important professional upgrade. As an athlete she was able to win the 2009 junior world championship, then in 2016, at the end of her career, she began university studies in Verona, graduating in Sports Sciences and obtaining a Master's degree in Sports Sciences and Physical Performance.
Rossella, were you expecting this call?
Let's say yes. I had been collaborating with Salvoldi in the track sector for three years alreadyLast season I intensified this role with two permanent presences on the track. Thanks to the detachment I was able to have with Army and also to the memorandum of understanding between the Armed Forces and the Cones, I was allowed to go and work with the national team.
What will your role be and how will it change compared to before?
I will be diverted to the road and I will support Paolo Sangalli, who will give us the calendar of races to follow for both the elite and juniorsIt will be essential to be present at the competition venues to keep a constant eye on the girls and evaluate their performances and results. I will be a sort of observer who will then have to report to the coach in view of the European and World Championships.
Will it be difficult to continue the work done by Salvoldi?
The legacy that Dino left is enormous and I believe it is thanks to what he has sown over all these years. Now the path to follow is that of continuity and try to put the girls in the best conditions to do well.
Does this new role scare you?
No, it will be stimulating, because I will enrich my knowledge. I will work hard, making my resources and skills available. I believe that by operating in a certain way, giving one hundred percent, whatever comes will be a consequence.
In this first season as Sangalli's "assistant," what would be your greatest satisfaction?
Well, good question (smiles, ed.). For me, a great satisfaction is when you gain the trust of the athletes you work with.On the track, for example, it was like this, and I wish it were the same on the road too. It's clear that, following a certain training and training camp schedule, having goals like the European and World Championships is essential to doing everything right.
As a coach, what quality do you feel strongest in and what do you want to improve?
The best one I would say is that of translate the sensations and needs that the athlete reports to you about their physical condition. Put everything on the practical side and then find possible solutions. I think that Having cycled and my studies will help me to better understand the girls' messageThe quality I would like to explore further is the relationships between athletes and clubs.
In 2022, aside from the usual suspects, are there any athletes you expect something from?
Yes, I have a lot of them actually, but I will pay more attention to some of them. The first is the Paternoster, which I have been very close to latelyI'm curious to see her back on the road. She returned to the track at the end of the season after having had a few problems for a good year. The second is the Zanardi, which I particularly like and which has a lot of room for improvementHis name is also an obvious one, but he will have to confirm the enormous growth he made in 2021.
Other names?
Another girl is the bertizzolo. He has incredible potential and I would like him to show it off in his new team. and I would like her career as a rider to grow further. Then there is Chiara Consonni, who has a very fast start and will be the Valcar's first striker. For me she is a tractor (laughs, ed.) and she will be able to get some satisfaction.
As for the younger ones, who are you curious about?
There is a good youth sector among the juniors. For example, Venturelli and Ciabocco (first and second year respectively, ed.) are very strong but I would leave them free from pressure.. Instead, I'll give you a couple of names of neo-elite girls. Valentina Basilico (will go to the BePink, ed.) who I saw up close this year on the track where she won the European Junior Championships and four medals at the World Championships in Cairo. I was struck by her way of running. The other is Francesca Barale (will pass to the Team DSM(Editor's note) for his approach to the race. He doesn't sit back, he doesn't hold back, and he has the right mentality to attack.
