From professionals to juniors. It's the story of Luca Scinto who after a year of stop has returned to the flagship, that of the Team Franco Ballerini. The former Tuscan rider was among the founders of this company, however he immediately wants to clarify that it is not him who holds the reins of the team, but Andrea Bardelli. “He’s the one who knows the riders and the category,” he says.
However, the discussion is not about the team, but about the category. Scinto can be a good comparison between these two worlds, that of the pros and that of the juniors, which, by the way, are getting closer and closer.
Luca, you're a junior, an important and delicate category. Let's start from the beginning: how different is it from your time?
How different is it? It's changed like from zero to one hundred. It's a different kind of cycling. When I was in the juniors, the first cardio machines were starting to arrive, but we knew practically nothing about heart rates. And in fact, we didn't look at it. We were "fat," muscular, like normal kids. We started cycling after Epiphany. What am I saying, at the end of January. If anything, before that, we'd go jogging a bit.
And today?
Today they're pros and in fact they reach their peak at 20, while before maturation was much slower and they started to go strong at 24 or 25. Before, it was truly a youth category. Bartoli and on Saturdays we went to play football and on Sundays we went running. I played for Altopascio, okay I was a goalkeeper, But to give you an idea of what approach there could be. I think Michele and I were the first to use mountain bikes in the winter, to do cyclocross, but we were already a bit older. And then there was the bike setup. Before, they'd measure your inseam and off you went. Now the kids go for more than one biomechanical check-up.
What do you like about this very different world though?
I'm getting to know it. Before, I just went to watch the occasional race, but now I'm more into it and I enjoy it. I have to learn to get into the minds of these new generation kids. But what I like most is the way they look at you when you talk to them. They still listen to you. They're listening to you. And it's nice, it's a pleasure.
Well, until a few months ago you were dealing with the pros: the yardstick is still fresh…
I know they go and look for information on the internet. Who was Scinto, what did he do as a rider, sports director, who he competed with... More than anything, you have to pay attention to the parents, between overly attentive mothers and some fathers who think their son is a champion. But this is a general discussion, not about my team. What I like, however, is that, at least looking at mine, I found guys with personality. And also that there is a clear difference between foreigners and Italians.
In what sense?
Our kids, staying at home, are more spoiled, less self-sufficient. While I see the Canadian, Leonard, who at 17 lives alone, washes, cooks for himself… And I wonder: would one of us be able to live alone, not in Canada, which is on the other side of the world, but in Belgium? Would his parents be able to do it?
And what's something you like less?
Compared to my time, I don't know if these guys will make it to 35-37 years old. In fact, amateurism is skipped. Even The pro teams want everything right away and I think this will kill the under 23 and continental world in the long run.Maybe for some it's fine, but for other kids who need more time to mature, it's not. There wouldn't be a Shinto rider, or even more so a Ballan. I don't think we'll see another Nibali who at 37 years old is struggling to get into the top five Tour of Italy.
And what about when you go to the races? What has changed?
Ultimately, this part is the simplest. Technology helps these days, and team chat makes it easier to communicate, as long as it's not overused. I'm referring to departure times, appointments, rest stops... For the rest, the sports directors' meeting is always the same. The other day I was at a race with a narrow dirt finish. The cars couldn't fit. No one spoke, and I asked the judge if we could go ahead and assist the riders from the ground. Of course, if everyone agreed. Since no one spoke, everyone followed me. But that's just me. Even with... Rcs At the Giro, if I had to speak, I spoke. If anything, I wish the regional judges were more knowledgeable.
That?
I notice that they're often unprepared and inexperienced. The judge shouldn't just punish, but also be a figure of dialogue. In one race, they disqualified one of my riders for a refreshment 5 kilometers from the finish line. Okay, that's not done, but give me a fine. Why disqualify the guy? I remember, for example, the Francesca Mannori. You could see that she was good, that she had personality. And in fact now she is at Tour de FranceLike riders, good judges are immediately visible.
What did the Scinto sports director say to a pro before a race and what does he say to a junior?
Let's start with the fact that for the first ones it's a job. So they have to give their all to do well. I tell the juniors to give it their all, but also to be careful, to behave well in a group, to don't make a scene after arriving. Also because of the jersey we wear around town. For us, the name Franco Ballerini is a source of pride and satisfaction. Or that they shouldn't get upset if there's a mechanical failure, or that they shouldn't get discouraged if a race goes badly. This category is truly special. It's a life lesson. It's the one that helps you understand whether cycling is your career or not.
And what do the boys ask you instead?
Rather than asking, we talk and address situations. There was a guy who was recovering from a broken wrist. He said he was in pain, so I bandaged him up, taped him. It wasn't much, but it helped him feel more at ease. Another guy told me: "When I get to the bottom of the hill and then I tear my wrist, my legs hurt, they won't move." So I asked him: "And do they burn too?" And he said: "Yes, yes..." There, I replied, "That's where you have to insist, because just as they burn for you, they burn for others too. Many times you give up twenty meters before the others. Only at that point you've missed the train." And he seemed to understand.
Do you ever tell any anecdotes?
Yes, precisely on this subject I told him how in a Giro del Lazio I was almost ready to retire, wanting to give up after a climb. At the bottom of the descent, also thanks to a slowdown, I rejoined. And so before the Appian Way, on that beautiful cobblestone road, I said to myself: since I'm not going, I'll move up. Wow, I was flying! I finished second. Overall I try to tell him more about my experiences as a sports director, of the many moments with Visconti, than those of riders.
Come on, you speak with passion. Ultimately, cycling, the crux, is always the same…
Look, I won with radios and without radios, with the tablet in the flagship and without… I'm not against technology, but in the end cycling is always the same – warns Scinto – And when they tell me I'm old, that cycling has changed, I reply that the cycling of the past is better than the cycling of today. The fundamentals have changed. There's no way we can formulate tactics by email three days before the race. And it happens in the pros, believe me. There are many things that should be clarified among the juniors too, like for example why we can't use free gears, but only 52x14, and at the same time we send the kids to the gym to do presses. Yes, go on: I like this category and I would like to continue.
