Gilberto Simoni was going around looking around the Tour of Lunigiana, with the gaze of someone who has already been there and searches for memories in hidden cornersHe wanted to go back, he had been saying so for a while, after having won it in 1989. Another era, another cycling, and yet he left it behind. Davide rebel e Andrea Perón: two who, within a few years, would have their great careers. Just like the Trentino, who arrived in these lands between Tuscany and Liguria. as a companion for the home team.
Italians and Russians
Cycling was different back then. Less globalized, in many ways easierThe masters were ours and alternatively there were the Russians, so much so that if the previous year the victory had gone to Beppe Guerini, the following year Lunigiana was snapped up by Pavel Tcherkasov and after him Mizourov, then Bruseghin and then Kokorine.
And so, waiting for the awards on Fivizzano's day, decisive for Antonio Morgado's victory, we intercepted his gaze and tried to understand how it was return to the same places 33 years later.
Do you see any differences?
You know, in 1989 I was in the race, it's not like I saw the race from the outside. I think it was intense even then. The strongest are here.I don't want to say it's a World Championship every day, but it's definitely a Tour de France, a Giro d'Italia. The way the guys race today is very impetuous, but I see differences especially in technologyThey have very high-performance bikes, while I think the man is still the same…
What is your role?
I'm not their sporting director, that's what Stefano Sartori is for. I just offered to accompany them and give them a hand.I'd been wanting to come to Lunigiana for a while, but I'd never found the opportunity. And at a certain point, I said to myself: "I come here either as a tourist or as a guide."I found the opportunity to do both…
You say the man is still the same, but they could already be overtaken next year. You did it five years after winning Lunigiana...
It's all wrong, For some time now I've only seen wrong things, so… It's a never-ending conversation. The very fact that… next year they will liberalize the relations...
Aren't you in favor?
I want to see How will the organizers manage these kids?The averages will definitely increase, not so much for performance, but there will definitely be biggest difference between those who go slow and those who go fast. The distance between the head and the end of the stroke will increase…
It's the new that advances…
The juniors' one is a category that should be slowed down, not speeded upThe other day we did the morning half-stage at an average temperature of almost 49. I challenge the professionals to stand here in the middle. What I see is that there is around a gang of incompetentsItalian cycling has always been a model for the world and It's not that if others around are running around with free gear, we have to do it tooMany riders have achieved success by passing through Italy, yet We Italians don't teach anyone anything anymore. Even though they've always copied us.
What would you do?
I would protect this category more, because This is where good riders come fromLet's start with the juniors, let them grow well and then we'll talk about it again.
