Cycling is a training ground for life, and experience also comes from knowing how to process less pleasant news. He knows it well Chiara Consonni (Opening photo: Cavalli) which he had to digest last minute exclusion from Tour Femmes due to covid.
He had closed the last race with a victory – the tenth and final stage of the Giro Donne in Padua – but now the twenty-three year old sprinter of the Valcar Travel&Service She's ready to get back on track. And it's right to say so since we met her on the first night of the Six Days of the Roses from Fiorenzuola (with a shiver due to a fall) before the final preparations in Montichiari in view of the upcoming away matches.
We heard it to understand how he handled his failure to participate in France and how he is preparing to face the second part of the season.
Chiara, tell us how things went…
After the Giro Donne I spent a few days at the seaside in Liguria at “Yaya’s” house (Sanguineti(ed.) where we also trained. But when I returned home, I didn't feel too well for two days. I realized they were Covid symptoms. The swab test came back positive five days after the start of the Tour. And there I had to stop.
How did you react?
Instinctively, I screamed (She laughs, ed.) I was furious, and on the phone with "Boss" Arzeni (Valcar's team manager, ed.), I kept telling him I wanted to go anyway because I knew I'd test negative again soon. He rightly said no, but I held out hope until the end. I took 2-3 swabs a day, and I tested negative again on July 24th, the day of the first stage. I realized that There was no point in going, because I wasn't in any condition. I finally went to the pool with friends to clear my mind and not think about it.
Consonni and Persico have collected most of Valcar's victories and placings The happiness of Chiara Consonni and her president, Valentino Villa 
Sanguineti supported by Consonni (left) and Vigié. Yaya is Chiara's pilot fish. Chiara Consonni sprints to victory at the Dwars door de Westhoek, her second of four seasonal victories (photo Vos)
Consonni and Persico have collected most of Valcar's victories and placings The happiness of Chiara Consonni and her president, Valentino Villa 
Sanguineti supported by Consonni (left) and Vigié. Yaya is Chiara's pilot fish. Chiara Consonni sprints to victory at the Dwars door de Westhoek, her second of four seasonal victories (photo Vos)
Did anyone help you with this?
Yes, I'm lucky to be surrounded by people who make me understand many things. Both the Chief and our president. Valentino Villa They spoke to me and reassured me. I know that I am things that are part of the game and now I've learned to accept it, But it's never easy to accept news like this.
In fact, it wasn't the first time you'd experienced a similar situation.
No, exactly. I had the same feeling I had just a year ago when I learned I wouldn't be going to the Olympics. I'd been really sick. And something similar had happened to me in my second year as a junior. It was 2017, I was supposed to go to the World Championships in Bergen, but a week before leaving I'd fallen in training and injured my knee, where I needed stitches. I'd been sick back then too. These things happen, and you never like them. But looking on the bright side, these are experiences that will help me in the future., hoping they don't happen again (laughs, ed.).
And what do you say about your team's Tour?
Do you understand why I really wanted to leave anyway? They did a great race, with a super fifth place from Silvia (Perch, ed.). I knew we had a strong team that could have done so well, right from the first arrival on the Champs Elysees, which was a bit of a goal of mineThere will be other opportunities as far as I'm concerned.
Chiara Consonni competing in the first evening of the Six Days of the Roses in Fiorenzuola (photo Cavalli) Chiara will be competing with Elisa Balsamo in the Nations Cup event in Milton, Canada.
Chiara Consonni competing in the first evening of the Six Days of the Roses in Fiorenzuola (photo Cavalli) Chiara will be competing with Elisa Balsamo in the Nations Cup event in Milton, Canada.
What are your plans for the next few weeks?
I'm running the side races of the first evenings of the six days of Fiorenzuola. After that I'll go to Sweden for the two races in Vargarda (6 and 7 August, ed.) and then to Norway for the Tour of Scandinavia (from August 9th to 14th, ed.). Then there are the Europeans in padel and on the road, which overlap with the final stages. I should run both today., are one of my other goals. Finally between the end of August and the beginning of September I will do the Simac Ladies Tour in Holland and Challenge by La Vuelta In Spain. In short, there are still plenty of events to do well.
How is your overall year going so far?
Very good. I've achieved four important victories and many good placings. I knew I'd have a lot more responsibility, even just because I'm no longer an U23. I feel very grown upI am increasingly aware of my abilities. I always have a lot of motivation to do well and try to improve.
