Il Team Colpack Ballan CSB The club is moving quickly towards its 32nd season. Over the years, the team has produced many champions. Beppe Colleoni. But we cannot rest on our laurels; we must always renew ourselves and meet new needs.
And maybe that's why too Antonio Bevilacqua e Gianluca Valoti They're considering some substantial changes, including the schedule. As we call Valoti, the two coaches are in a meeting. 2023 has already begun for them.
Gianluca, let's start with a quote that came up while speaking this summer at Valle d'Aosta: "Even a major youth team like Colpack struggles to sign the best players." Is that true? And why?
It's really difficult. The last example is the Jumbo Visma who took that 17 year old boy (Mattio, ed.). How do you stop him? A guy like him watches TV. He sees that team wins the Tour, which competes with pogacar, which includes many champions… It's normal that he has the ambition to join that well-organized and prestigious team. And in some cases they move directly to the WorldTour and not from the youth team.
So how can teams like Colpack, or even Zalf, to name another great team, tempt youngsters?
We always work to give and do our best. We try to show them our organizational structure and show them how they would be followed 100 percent: preparation, nutrition, materials...
2023 season: what will your roster be like?
Compared to last year we took six juniors plus Luca Cretti who is a fourth year. Ten more boys have been confirmed, including the group of sprinters: Persico, Boscaro, Quaranta and Della Lunga. We have taken another boy to join us Sergio Meris, who is our top-ranked climber and is also in his fourth year, so we're trying to give him a hand. I think they're overall good guys.
Have you seen them live too?
We studied them partly live, but also partly with current technologies, which allow us to carefully study the files and evaluate that boy's values between training sessions and races. Bearing in mind that ultimately, it's the road's verdict that counts. We chose a few more climbers, because there aren't many left anymore. Diego Bracalente, Lorenzo Nespoli, Leonardo Volpato and in part Gabriel Casalini e Nicolas Milesi, who are a bit more time trialists, in Lunigiana for example they showed themselves to be good on the climbs. Ditto Luca Cretti and Pavel Novak.
But six kids, Gianluca, isn't a small number. It's a small revolution...
We started out with a group of young people who gradually “matured” and so last year we weren't starting from scratch. For 2023, however, we are starting from scratch and the hope is to create a program with them lasting at least two or three years.
Here it is, the crux of the matter: a two- to three-year program. Because, as we've seen, the risk is that at the first positive sign (not just victories) they'll pass...
Exact. Having a rider for two or three years is a problem and it is increasingly difficult. Plus, during their first year, until June, you try to give them a little more peace and quiet because they have school, and then have them do something extra in preparation for the end of the season. This has always been Colpack-Ballan CSB's policy. And if necessary, have them do more intense activity the following year.
Will the 2023 calendar be the same as always?
We have made many requests abroad, As always, the problem is that with Covid, the most important teams, starting with the WorldTours, were spending much more time in Europe. Now that things seem to be changing, that Australia and Argentina are coming back… maybe there's more space for us. But it's still difficult to plan an activity abroad because we continentals are the last to be notified. They tell us at the last minute that our request has been accepted. But hey, we've already received some confirmation!
Guy?
A race in Holland, Paris-Roubaix, the Ardennes Classics…
Are there any races you'd like to do?
Yes the Tour of Brittany I'd say it's an excellent race for our level. First of all, it's seven days of racing and it's very close to ours. Line of Business during 23 and then the routes are mixed, the weather is quite changeable… in a race like this the kids learn a lot.
Do events like this and a busier foreign calendar increase the attraction of young people to your team?
There is definitely more stimulation. Let's take Persico, who's in his fourth year and is experienced. Guys like him have already competed in just about every race in the Italian scene, and competing abroad might give him more grit, more hunger, more determination. And I imagine this also applies to first-year students, even though the national calendar is new to them. For example in Bracalente when he was told about the Florence-Empoli Their eyes lit up. They'd only heard of a competition like this, read about it somewhere, or seen it on TV. It's still a transition from juniors to amateurism.
And maybe think about a trip like those in the Mediterranean, Turkey or the Tour of Rhodes?
Honestly, I'm a little hesitant, and the same goes for the trip to Argentina, where if we insist a little, maybe they'll even invite us. However These are huge organizational commitments for small structures like ours. The vehicles, the bikes, the staff… And then they cost.
And in some of these races, the technical level isn't great. Would a Sibiu Tour be better?
Yes, better. These races in Romania and Bulgaria are gaining popularity. They're well-organized, the hotels are good, and the technical level is fair. These are places you can reach in a day's travel, and the kids are given the opportunity to compete in a strong international field. Of course, we've also applied for the Italian stage races, the Giro di Sicilia, the Coppi e Bartali... and we're waiting for the results. As I said before, we continentals are the last to hear about the invitation.
