Like when a daughter passes away. All Valcar the departure of Elisa Balsam towards the Trek-Segafredo It produced the same emotions as last year when Marta Cavalli left (in the opening, Elisa and the team on the podium of the 2016 junior Italian championship). As she told us Elisa, will be trained again by Davide Arzeni And we turned to the "Chief" himself to describe the athlete who could be the Italian leader at the next World Championships. Perhaps starting from the first time he saw her.
With Covi in the debutants
Arzeni immediately starts laughing and the memory goes back to distant years, when Elisa was a rookie and Davide had her in the team with him Alessandro Covi, today a professional at UAE Team Emirates.
«We went to a race in Piedmont – he recalls – and we came out with broken bones, having beaten a womanI teased him for a long time. Coincidentally, it happened on October 14th, the same day Elisa won the junior world championship in Doha. That day the memory of that race came out on Facebook and I sent it to Alessandro. She beat us, I told him, but at least she's a strong…».
Did you already know about Doha 2016?
I met her before that World Championship, in June 2015. She was going from a first-year junior to a second-year junior. I already knew that I would take the Valcar in my hands and I was observing itWe started working together in the fall of 2015.
Did you already know that it had such great potential?
It was clear, and I'm sure he hasn't expressed it yet. He's still young. Bear in mind that she already made the quartets to qualify Italy for Rio in 2015..
Has she always been this meticulous?
He never had any doubts, even when there were travel back and forth three times a week from Cuneo to MontichiariWhether he stays as his coach depends on what happens at Trek, I haven't spoken to anyone yet.
Do you think he'll have to give up the track a bit to be able to push hard on the road?
We need to see what happens in terms of Trek's plans for her. She certainly has a lot of room for manoeuvre. I've always compared her to Valverde, someone who defends herself on climbs, has a lethal sprint and is fast.Of those athletes who can win every race. But she can't give up the track completely, because she likes it. It's clear that then... If Trek has plans for the Giro or the Tour de France, you don't prepare them by making quartetsi.
Do you think he can do well in stage races?
Let's say we preserved it and now someone else will benefit from it. At the Vuelta, except for the very first ones, she always reached the top of the climbs with the first ones.Even on 15-kilometer climbs. This year, despite the Olympic training from May to July between the gym and the track, she performed well on the road.
When did you find out she was going to Trek?
I didn't know anything until the announcement. I didn't want to know. News about Jumbo had come out, but It was his choice. It's right that he decided independently..
Is she tough?
Women's cycling always shed a tear, but it's hard. If you think about what happened to her in Tokyo, when they ran over her with a bike… If the crank was positioned any other way, it would really hurt. The fact that she left means she's tough. Her character will also improve with age.. That's another thing that can be improved.
What achievement with her are you most proud of?
We have to go back many years. But I would say the first victory in the WorldTour, in Pasadena, California in 2019.We worked for her and she didn't make any mistakes. It wasn't an easy path, there were climbs and there were a lot of them. And the Arlenis Sierra she's a tough one to beat.
Salvoldi said he will be the leader at the World Cup…
I want to enjoy it a little longer in this month and a half, there are so many races. The World Championships is definitely a goal. Then there will definitely be Roubaix, which is something new for everyone.We are preparing together.
And how are you experiencing the separation?
She still moves and thinks like a Valcar athlete. The girls at the Vuelta made themselves available without any problemsWe're experiencing it like last year with Marta, two of the team's flagships. Over the past six years, Elisa has given us great satisfaction. We have given to her and she has given back.I don't remember how many World Cups he won, I think five. I don't even count the European Championships.
You mentioned Marta Cavalli, who has changed her skin, improving a lot on climbs and losing momentum…
It depends on the team's goals, but Elisa must not lose her quick witMarta evidently believes she wants to aim for certain races. However Now I want to think about the next races, there will be time for goodbyes later.
