Immediately after the interview with Federica Venturelli, that bitter feeling remained in the air that goes beyond the results. It was evident, in the words of the talented girl of the UAE ADQ Team, the need for help that goes beyond the immediate, the need for an answer to a recurring bad luck that for the third consecutive year has halted his growth on the road, forcing her to chase the condition and above all the opponents.
A team effort
A problem that is no longer just physical, but also psychological, because Venturelli appeared a little discouraged, although confident that she will be able to bridge the gap this year too. And the races in Spain are helping her for precisely that, regardless of the finishing order. But to find out more, it was necessary to talk to someone who knows her well, like her trainer. Dario Giovine.
«Luckily Federica and I havean excellent coach-athlete relationship – she says – which has been developing for three years now, so there is great trust due to excellent communication between me and her. We are managing the situation calmly, as we always have. We talk daily, not just her and I, but also at team level, with all the team's professionals, such as the biomechanics, the nutritionist, the doctor, and obviously the physiotherapist, so we try not to leave anything out."
Faced with his psychological distress after so much misfortune, how did you handle it?
My role in this recovery phase after yet another stop was to stay close to her, reassure her and give her a space to listen and a "container" for the emotions she was feelingThe worst is now absolutely over, he has already started running again and little by little I am sure that he will find not only the best physical condition, but also the moral oneCompared to a couple of weeks ago, the situation has already improved a lot.
Looking back over the last two years, has the recovery been more difficult?
Honestly, both she and I thought so, in the sense that she is a perfectionist, a girl who demands a lot from herself both academically and in sportsI began to get to know her better and better, and based on my experience, I always told her that I was pretty sure she would return to her former level fairly quickly.
And did it happen?
Every time it manages to amaze me, because Even though the amount of work wasn't huge, she managed to reach a more than decent level.Even though the training was very progressive, we didn't rush her to get her running as soon as possible, so even she was surprised to see that she was already at a good point. Obviously, she's not in top form because that wouldn't be feasible, but she's already at a good level. She herself told me that After three years in which the start of the season always proceeds in the same way, between falls, injuries, physical problems, all of this has left her feeling a bit down. But the road is providing the answers she needs.
Have you ever wondered why this problem has been recurring for three years? Is there some compulsion to repeat it, some underlying problem?
Absolutely yes, we asked ourselves this question and we continue to ask ourselves this question. Unfortunately, there's little we can do about injuries caused by falls. Then there are other medical situations we're working on as a team. But above all, we are trying to protect her as much as possible, so at some points we just decided to stop it.
To do what?
Allow her to recover and understand what was happening. In terms of workload, we certainly can't say she's a girl pushed to the limit, so we're trying to understand why Federica is having these problems, which are undoubtedly a combination of factors. So we're trying to work as a team to help her achieve perfection.
Has anything changed in the team's view of him, or is their confidence still the same, especially in his ability to showcase his talent for the future?
Absolutely not, in fact the team is already more than satisfied with what Federica is able to give and has already given in these return matches in Spain, because she has been of great help. Let's not forget the fact that in the first race of the year he won the Clasica Almeria which is immediately below the WorldTour trials, so there's never been any doubt about his value. That's precisely why we've all tried not to rush his recovery. We know he's a talent with plenty of room for growth, especially considering the volumes we're putting in are still far from the final volumes of a fully-trained professional athlete.
Your schedule has been rearranged, what are your goals at this point?
Meanwhile, the Grand Tour she was supposed to do hasn't been confirmed, so we're focusing on smaller stage races that will teach her a lot, that will teach her to grow. Now she'll obviously do the Italian time trial and road races. Then there's the Tour of the Pyrenees and after that, in the second part of the season, he will finally rejoin what can be defined as his team, the one of the classics, where we can also find, for example, Gillespie and others with similar characteristics. From the summer we expect the Venturelli we know well, inferior to no one.
