Cycling is racing and changing its face. Until a few years ago, little attention was given to youth competitions, emphasizing that the recreational aspect should remain paramount. Is this still the case? Many say so, but when it comes down to it, watching the races, you realise that the category is now seen as a real appetizer for the juniors, as a gateway to cycling that counts.
Young riders boys, but with a well-built physique
So all those basic principles, such as the fact that at that level teamwork is still an abstract concept, lose value. The category is changing, it is no coincidence that the prosecutors are already looking with ever greater interest at what happens at those levels, they hunt for talent, but the problem always remains the same: we often forget that maturation does not take the same time for everyone
First of all from a physical point of view: those who go to the student races notice that there are 15-16 year old boys who are already trained, structured and who exploit this physical advantage to emergeBut most of them are not like this, they are still far from reaching their ideal and definitive conformation: who gives them the time to do so? The risk of losing sight of important talents is real, and Italian cycling cannot afford it.
Is there too much competition?
This is not the only risk: there is also the fact that the calendar, narrow as it is between March and October, is overabundant. We examined 336 races, if we then consider that many (fortunately...) also do other activities, like winter cyclocross or alternative mountain biking, you notice that kids are busy practically every weekend. But we're talking about kids busy with school, who, between training and competitions, have an alternative commitment that fills their days. Perhaps even too much...
Is it just an Italian problem? Absolutely not. One thing that emerges from looking at the season is that we now have a category that is a carbon copy of the next one. Teams that are absolute benchmarks, away trips around Italy at every turn, but there's another fact that stands out: the increasingly frequent comparisons with foreigners. In Italy this season, new Slovenian talents have often emerged, such as Maks Olenik winner of the last Gold Cup beating one of his compatriots. Pogacar's exploits are gaining followers, the local movement is growing strongly as in tennis it happens here too...
The reference teams
The season analysis shows that there are teams that represent the beacons of the youth category, bringing home the majority of victories. Like the Petrucci Zero24 and Team Hyperfinish who often end up grabbing podiums populated only by their representatives. This means that already at that age there is a race to enter those contexts, where there is also strong internal competition.As with everything, it's a factor that can have a positive or negative impact, depending on how you look at it.
The fact that we can no longer speak of a category where competitive spirit and technical aspects are secondary is also evident from the evolution of stage races, which are undergoing significant development. And which give important answers, for example highlighting Andrea Endrizzi, rider of the VC Marostica winner of Le Fiumane, test on 5 stages and then third in the Giro delle Tre Province, won by Andrea Gabriele Alessiani.
The record holder of victories
The standard-bearer of the Petrucci Zero24 Cycling Team He is certainly the rider who has stood out the most this season: record holder for victories among the students with 11 successes, winner at the Liberation Grand Prix in Rome, Alessiani fully represents the speech made before, with such an impressive physical development that looking at him you think you are in front of a junior already formed and ready for the big leap.
It's precisely in cases like his that we need to work hard, avoiding the easy temptation to let him skip the steps. After all, if they say the juniors are where things really start, there must be a reason...
The effervescence in the Islands
Digging deeper, however, there is another element, somewhat hidden in some ways, that emerges: the strong vitality emerging from regions usually considered on the margins of major activity, such as Sicily and Sardinia. Where not only are many competitions for students held (perhaps within others, with extrapolated rankings) but also good talents emerge, thanks above all to the fact that there is a strong exchange with other regions.
The best of the Islands also go to compete on the continent and some local events also attract participation from leading teams from other regions. This is a figure even higher than what happens among juniors, where, for example, Sicilian activity is strictly local and Sardinian activity is much smaller in comparison. This aspect certainly needs work.
