«Of course Pogacar is like Ayuso». The adventure (because it is an adventure) in the flagship of the company begins with this joke. Colpack – Ballan. We are at Tour of the Aosta Valley. After a cold and rainy morning, the sun is shining on Pollein, the start and finish point of the first stage.
The usual greetings with the sports directors, some questions between technicians and riders before the start and the invitation of Gianluca Valoti, Colpack's own sporting director, following the stage in the team car. A golden opportunity. By the way, the author of the opening sentence—keep that in mind—is none other than Gianluca Valoti.
Before the start, the teams were presented. It was the turn of Cycling Team Friuli. Nervous track, a continuous up and down Piganzoli, among the first big names to pay the price
Before the start, the teams were presented. It was the turn of Cycling Team Friuli. Nervous track, a continuous up and down Piganzoli, among the first big names to pay the price
Very nervous journey
Let's go. If the race is smooth, the route isn't. The Aosta Valley immediately reveals its challenging characteristics, and not just in terms of altitude. Curves, narrow roads, bumps, hairpin bends, ramps, villages... it's a constant up and down. And often there's only room for one car, so narrow are the roads. And so... Stefano Casiraghi, the team mechanic exclaims: «We did 30 kilometers but it feels like we've done eight Roubaixes!».
They chatted about this and that: the discussion between continental teams and U23 teams, the radios that would have been useful on such a technical and perhaps even slightly dangerous track, the lifespan of the brakes and tires of the team cars.
And these breaks, always well into double figures, quickly claim many victims. Colpack loses out to the leading group. Nicholas Plebani. Once down in the valley, Valoti joins him and tells him to persist. But the further they go, the more illustrious the victims become. Even well-known foreigners drop out. And it's hard. Davide Piganzoli, among the most active in the U23 Tour.
Risk and chaos midway through the race
The course is truly technical. Valoti, who has an Olympic calm (like a true leader), tries to scrutinize Alexander Verres, his top-seeded man. He tells us that the Lucanian is often “not very bad”, a little submissive. And on courses like this you can't afford that... if you're aiming high.
And in fact radiocorsa announces: «Attack of Vandenabeele downhill." And the Colpack sports director: "I was about to say: you'll see that Vandenabeele attacks. He's very strong downhill."
We're halfway through the race, and chaos is raging among the team cars. The riders are clamoring for water, and the sports directors are jostling to get to the back of the line and try to chat with their riders, as well as refuel them. It's a constant brush. And sometimes, they actually touch.
Downstream the group broke up. Verres is behind. Valoti remains calm, or so it seems, but the situation is extremely dangerous. There are some real "dogs" up front. And the gap is not small. garofoli (very good) he delivers some serious damage and in the end the almost minute gap is somehow closed. Danger averted.
"Now," mutters the Colpack sports director, "the climb begins. Go ahead, Alessandro," as if he could hear him. "We tried it yesterday. You know where it starts. And what it's like..."
Halfway through the race, the (usual) chaos among the team cars A glimpse of the very tough climb of Terreblanche Monstrous Terreblanche. Try to notice the slope by looking at the wall...
Halfway through the race, the (usual) chaos among the team cars A glimpse of the very tough climb of Terreblanche Monstrous Terreblanche. Try to notice the slope by looking at the wall...
Worse than Zoncolan
And to think that today's stage was supposed to be the easiest. And indeed, it was. Or at least that's what the numbers say. But believe us: we who rode in the team car are tired, let alone the riders. Sharp climbs and very steep descents. All of it. An Aosta-style Liège, as was described in the morning press conference. 3.200 meters of altitude difference hurts more than doing the Stelvio twice.
And then the best part. At kilometer 78, the Terreblanche climb begins. Garibaldi lists it as category 2. Let's hope they're mistaken. Gradients sometimes exceeding 20%. Extremely narrow road. In an instant, Aosta shrinks to a tiny size in the valley floor. The wheel-changing machine melts. The riders zigzag uphill. The front wheels of the bikes sometimes lift. A hairpin bend is so tight that the team car has to maneuver. And they knew it. So much so that there's a yellow-jacketed attendant directing the cars' maneuvers. Incredible. I've never seen anything like it in person. The group no longer exists.
Triello, duel…
But somehow the climb to the team car becomes sweet. And yes, because radiocorsa says that number 40, Alessandro Verre, is fourth. Then third, then second. In front is the New Zealander from Groupama-Fdj Continental, Reuben Thompson. The GPM suddenly arrives in the woods. A crazy descent: extremely steep and narrow (there's even moss in the middle of the asphalt) and then the climb begins again.
This time the road is wider and the slope is decidedly gentler. The judge gives us the okay to pass. Verre sees Thompson and is in turn chased at the same distance. (about ten seconds) by Colombian Didier Cardona. "Don't give up," Valoti says. "Malto," Verres manages to whisper, wanting maltodextrin. "It's four kilometers like this. You have to finish at the last kilometer," the sports director replies.
The judge sends us back. The tension rises. We can see the duel, or rather the duel, from a distance. Thompson, Verre, Cardona. Then the curves obscure our view. But the unmistakable voice of Virgil Rossi, Radicorsa, announces: "Verre has caught Thompson." And shortly after: "Passings at the Les Fleurs GPM: number 40 first, number 15 (Thompson, ed.) second."
And solo…
Two of them go away. The referee has us stay on the Colombian's wheel, who stays just a handful of seconds behind but doesn't close the gap. Yet the speedometer often reads 80 miles an hour. Towards the end of the descent, a group comes back from behind. But those two up front were hawks. There's a short climb ahead. Verre, who is a mere dwarf compared to Thompson, can't sprint to the finish. "And so," Verre recounts after the finish, "I gathered all my remaining energy and managed to drop him."
Meanwhile, joy is raging in the flagship. The moderate “go” of the GPM becomes a cry. Valoti and Casiraghi embrace. "I didn't think I'd get it right away," says Valoti, referring to the leader's jersey, "but! We'll defend it... When I saw Thompson alone, I knew he was done, while Verre was pushing hard."
Thoughts of a Champion
After half an hour, more riders arrive in Pollein. The sun almost disappears behind the mountains. The shadows are very long. Verre sits quietly behind the stage, eating rice, tuna, and corn. He's already done his interviews.
"No, I didn't expect to win," he tells us. "I took a huge risk halfway through the race. The group had split up, and I was behind among the team cars. You always need to be smart. So many times you think about saving yourself for the finale, but then you find yourself in those situations. Luckily it went well."
It was truly emotional watching the Lucanian chase down the final climb. We tried to put ourselves in his shoes. What was he thinking in that moment? He was there, giving it his all, but there was always that 100-meter gap. It's not easy mentally.
"It was a strange situation," Alessandro recounts, "because I was in the middle. Not only did I have to chase, but I was also being chased. I thought Thompson was being smart. That he was holding me there and then giving up, that he wanted to finish me off." Then we point out that Valoti had told him to finish in the final kilometer, and he did just that.
«Yes it's true, but I thought about Ayuso and pogacarThey leave nothing to anyone. I tried to imitate them. Also because you don't know what can happen in the next few days."
