Salesman and the palazzago they look towards 2021 with more news than confirmationsAnd among the first, news that Totò himself admitted to having learned just twenty days ago, is that Antonio Fusi will no longer be at his sideThe former city of the under 23s and professionals has in fact passed to Team ColpackThe beginning of the new adventure, however, is a mixture of desire to do and doubt about what will actually be possible.
«I think 2021 will be like 2020 – concludes the 45-year-old former professional – because we know how to behave and what precautions to take, then we will have to see how things go in the various territories, what the Prefectures will do".
Commesso was a professional for 13 seasons, during which he won two stages of the Tour and two Italian championships. His team will have 16 riders: six confirmed, the others all new. And they are even five first-year athletes, which don't find space elsewhere. Giampaolo Caruso also called him in recent days to suggest one of the boys he follows: Alexander the GreekThe clerk listened to him, but unfortunately he had to tell him he was full.
You could have made a difference…
Let it be, I only wanted to take three, but as always there is a queue and we are among the few who invest in young people. I had to say no to Caruso and many others. Teams cannot be found, I fear that many will quit. And sometimes I even worry that the guys I get together won't last.
Why?
Last year, out of four I took, three stoppedThey're no longer used to being apart, yet I don't bother them much. Just when we have boarding school and it's for a fortnight, otherwise they stay at home. They are fragile, they don't have the hunger they had a few years agoThey already have everything, the bike is almost a whim and at the first difficulty they give up.
How do you choose them?
I follow them, I talk to the directors, I look at the results. I don't pick the winners, I look those who run attacking.
Which of your riders do you recommend we follow?
I took Stefano Baffi and Pasquale Abenante, even if they are first-year elite. They know how to win and will bring quality. Then I hope it will be confirmed Gerardo Sessa, a fourth year that finished 15th at the Giro d'Italia and fifth among the Italians. And then there are Pesenti and Fantoni from which I expect continuity and confirmation.
What changes without Fusi?
It will be a great leap. Having you by your side a technician like him was a good lightning rod, helped manage many things. I had a great time and Now I'll have to make do on my ownI think I have broad shoulders.
You'll have to go to the gym to loosen them up a bit...
I had found it, jokes aside, and it was something I did with my son. Kick boxingHe's 17 and he was hitting hard, I have to say I could feel it sometimes.
Are you going to have a retreat?
It would be expected by mid-December, but we'll have to wait and see if we'll get out of the red zone. The Campania boys are training downstairs. They're Sessa, D'Aniello, who's a good-looking kid, Luca Russo, and Abenante. We have to wait. There's not much time left now...
