Marco Selleri is right. The third stage of the Giro d'Italia U23, from Pinzolo to Santa Caterina Valfurva, has triggered a trial worthy of a television studio. Distance of 177 kilometers, altitude difference of 5.000 meters including Tonale, Aprica and Mortirolo. He won Leo Hayter in 5 hours 10'49” at an average of 34,186 (top, photo ExtraGiro-Isolapress), as expected from the timetable which indicated a range between 33 and 37 hours.
It is clear that, compared to Hayter's time, that of the last one should also be noted: Christian Danilo Pase of Work Service, arriving in 6 hours 14'57" (a gap of one hour 04'08"). Since everyone also had to endure a 50-minute transfer, it is clear that the hours in the saddle were objectively many.
Italians wanted
The Italian riders have disappeared. To find the top three, you have to go to 14th place with Piganzoli (Eolo) at 9'27", then to 19th, where they meet Meris (Colpack), Raccani (Zalf), and Germani (Fdj), who had previously pulled for his teammates Gregoire and Martinez on the attack. Their gap was 13'45".".
And that's where the discussion started. On site, for those who were there. On social media, for others. It's not easy to interpret the defeat, because basically everyone is right.Everyone has their own point of view, even if not all points of view are sharedAnd here the short circuit occurs.
Heated debate
Davide Cassani observes that Italian teams don't go to compete abroad, like the othersBut instead of self-criticism, they prefer to point the finger at the organizer for proposing a stage that was too difficult.
Pino Toni, coach of Bardiani U23, claims that it is not possible to propose such a tough race to a group like the Italian one, accustomed to other difficultiesAnd that even if the stage had had 3.500 meters of altitude difference, the final result would not have changed.
The Giro d'Italia U23 is not an Italian race, just as the Avenir is not a French race. They are international competitions of the highest prestige: the strongest win them and they don't wink at anyone.The days of altering courses to give home-country riders an advantage are long gone: expecting that to happen is another symptom of the problem.
It's probably It's a mistake to take first year kids to such tough races. If it risks being so for Gregoire and Martinez (accustomed to a superior activity since they were juniors, who have been racing without the limitation of gears for a long time and who have in any case bowed to the solidity of their rivals), let alone for the Italians.
Invisible decline
Italy is the cradle of cycling, as it is of art and culture. Then you go abroad and you realize that They have half of our wealth, but they valorize it betterWe are so full of our certainties that we don't notice the decline.
In 2004, we were so convinced that the WorldTour would never be born, that they put us in by the skin of our teeth. Then we started complaining because At the U23 World Cup, the winners were boys who were used to being professional and we're still there talking about it. And now that the continental revolution has brought about a change of pace, as happens in all elite sports in which one enters professionalism in late adolescence (it is no coincidence that the UCI has abolished the limitation on the ratios between juniors), the issue is too difficult a stage.
Is it right? Is it wrong? Will these kids last less? The questions are all legitimate, but since there are no easily accessible answers, it is not by pretending nothing is happening that we can manage the situation.
The world of work
Amateur teams, where the kids are looked after like their own children, would still make sense if there were large Italian teams to provide continuity to the work. The continental team must prepare for the world of work and be linked to a WorldTour: if it doesn't happen, there's a problem.
Cycling in Italy is like a glorious old house, with walls full of frescoes that tell beautiful storiesIt is the Royal Palace of Caserta, more imposing than Versailles but worse maintained, which no one would dream of modifying to house offices that require technology and modernity. Instead we are there thinking about itWe add floors. We expand rooms. We knock down walls. We change intended uses, without realizing it. on the one hand of being blocked by a thousand constraints and on the other of compromising its solidity.
The fortune of other countries, which have never had so much wealth, is having built everything from scratch. Without constraints, putting in only what you actually need.
The example of Germani
Thirteen continentals is too much, especially because they don't do a worthy activity. An invitation to the Coppi e Bartali and the Adriatica Ionica Race, when things go well, the Giro di Sicilia, and then what? And then the usual races. How many continental players will have gone abroad by the end of the year to compete with their foreign peers? You can count them on half a hand. Then the Giro d'Italia arrives and we hope to shine? That's unrealistic.
Lorenzo Germani, fresh Italian U23 champion, this year he raced in France, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Italy. He took slaps, but he gave them at the right time.
Can you do U23 activities without being continental? It can be done. To scout and launch the best talents, even if others will ultimately benefit. Without counting the victories and without promising the moon to the sponsors, sacrificing the future of the kids for it. It would be useful. a shared working table, with the Federation pulling the strings, to best fit everyone's needs, clearing the field of less realistic claims.
Hayter managed the effort, climbing back alone in the final stages to win (photo ExtraGiro – Isolapress) Lenny Martinez, 19, finished 5th after leading for a long time (photo ExtraGiro – Isolapress)
Hayter managed the effort, recovering alone in the final stages (photo ExtraGiro – Isolapress) Lenny Martinez, 19, finished 5th after a long attack (photo ExtraGiro – Isolapress)
Our garden
Our wealth does not deserve to be debased by lack of visionBut everyone must do their part. broader participation in federal and international life, when the most important decisions are takenOtherwise, there's no point in complaining. Instead, we often look at our own backyard without knowing what's out there. Just like in everyday life, where the ones making decisions are those who have found a career in politics. The others complain, but they don't even go to voteAnd if something goes wrong, it's someone else's fault.
