Splendid, immense, very talented… add all the adjectives you want. Marta Cavalli won the women's Amstel Gold Race with masterful action. Perfect timing and leg strength.
The face of the standard-bearer of the Fdj – Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope This morning, Marta was the picture of serenity. Not that she isn't, but knowing her, she's sometimes more tense. Or at least focused. Those around her, however, praised her serenity. Calm and smiling, she prepared to go.
Departure among the crowds from the heart of Maastricht Marta Cavalli (born in 1998) smiling this morning at the start
Departure among the crowds from the heart of Maastricht Marta Cavalli (born in 1998) smiling this morning at the start
Those leggings…
Even though we're in Holland this time, the weather up there isn't spring-like yet. It's not as cold as last Sunday's Flanders, but it's not hot either. And that's why Marta, almost alone in the group, decides to run with leggings. A choice that perhaps pays off in the end.
Maybe, because as we always say these days, it's often the details that make the difference, and for someone as thin as her, the cold is felt more. And it makes you burn more. Maybe that's also why she had a little more energy at the end.
But let's get back on track. The Amstel is a gut: an up and down, a continuous right-left. Absurdly, it's almost worse than the RondeYou have to stay in front and Cavalli and her teammates are always cautious at the head of the group.
A selection is made, but in the end, the Cauberg is the ultimate judge. Fewer and fewer remain. About ten athletes leave, perhaps even fewer. Just at the top of the hill the group slows down and Marta Cavalli emerges like an arrow. A kilometer and a half to go at full speed. Belly, eyes to the ground. You can't see his face, only his helmet. He pushes, he flies. He gains about ten seconds, which in that moment are gold.
Surgical final
Only at the 900-meter mark does he turn around and realize that he really can do it. And he does. He even has time to enjoy the finale and realize that he's won the Amstel.
«During the week – he explained after arriving – we had tested the route and two things were important. Taking the left-hand bend leading onto the Cauberg was a good idea, with the possibility of a slowdown at the top. And so it was. At that point, I put our motto into practice: all or nothing. And I went.
"We'd discussed it with our sporting director. We knew they could be controlled, and starting quickly from behind would mean wasting energy chasing rather than sprinting."
From the radio its sports director Nicolas Maire, He encourages her and, as much as possible, gives her distance. This ensures that Marta never turns around. She can only think about pushing.
"It's definitely the most important success of my career. I have to thank all the staff. It's a dream. For my part, I pushed until the end. Until the last 20 meters, I would never have forgiven myself for losing because I hadn't given it my all.
"When I turned around," Cavalli passionately explains, "I saw I had a margin. At that moment I understood that most of the work was done, but that I also had to push. The nice thing is that I usually saw these images on TV with other protagonists. This time, however, it was me, in person. It was a real thrill. My energy multiplied."
Victory born in Flanders
On the podium, Marta takes a sip from her giant mug of beer. She's enjoying the moment. She's made history. She's the first Italian to win this classic. And she's also beaten one of the home favorites, Demi Vollering.
And to think that things hadn't gone well for her after the first races. Il lactose problem had forced her to stop. So much so that at the start of the Strade Bianche we met her, amazed, in civilian clothes.
His success, if we want, began the day after Flanders. She had returned to Italy since she had been in the North for quite some time and then had to return to the Ardennes. And she filed away a Ronde where she would have liked things to go better at a certain point, she had turned the page. On Instagram she wrote: «Ronde behind us, time to look forward to the Amstel Gold Race." Today she was the captain.
The test of the journey, the desire to arrive, the fact that since the times of Valcar – Travel & Service She's changed her physique and transformed from a sprinter into almost a climber: all the ingredients were there to do well. Ultimately, she's perfect for races like this.
The reconnaissance was vital. Marta knows how to observe and listen like few others. We already watched her closely last year during the Liège race, which she drove due to a knee problem. She studied every millimeter of the track with the utmost attention. And she and her team executed everything to perfection. Even the applause, united under the podium.
"I came back up to Holland on Friday," Cavalli concluded, heading to the airport. "At the last minute, I decided to spend a few days at home, and now I'm already on my way back. I was saying: I arrived on Friday. On Saturday I did this thorough workout with the team. The meeting with the sporting director and today the race. Did I feel like it? To be honest, no. I wasn't feeling bad, but I wasn't great in the final stages either. And as often happens, races are won like that, with less than stellar feelings, precisely because being less cocky means wasting less energy."
