Monday (yesterday), travel day. Alberto Bettiol is in the car returning from Andorra, where he participated together with Carapaz at the last retreat of the Ef Education-Easypost before the TourThe road as a backdrop to tell how the time has passed between the Giro d'Italia and the next French challenge. From his Tuscan and frank reasoning At times he comes up with observations of impressive clarity, and at others he seems to get lost himself first.
You arrived at the Giro after 40 days without racing and you came out strong.
I went with the idea of working hard, because Unfortunately I didn't prepare myself in the best way. Instead, in the second and third week I carved out my space. Unfortunately, I missed the first part of the season and I had to race to get to the Tour in the best possible way, but I also wanted to seize the opportunity of the Giro d'Italia to do well. I didn't expect to get so close to winning. And at that point, when you get so close and you don't win, then it makes you feel pissed off.
What did you do in the following weeks?
After the Giro I went back home two days, in Lugano, because Greta had to work, then on Thursday we went to Livigno, to TrepalleIt was a mix of mental and physical recovery and training. Then the team called me. Charlie (Wegelius, sport director of the American team, ed.) asked me to come to this retreat, which was not foreseen for me, having done the Giro and then having to go to the Tour. The goal was to stay calm in Livigno, but it was right to participate. We all went from the Tour group with Carapaz. I got in the car and left..
Livigno-Andorra, nearly 1.300 kilometers under the wheel…
I had already been there last year and for the type of trip, I was better at drivingIt's about 8 hours and I wanted to do it, because anyway Richard, who will be our captain, is a good guy and a championWe're going to the Tour with good prospects, so it was right to give them a little support, too. We trained very well this week and a half…
There's a lot of talk about the 30 days between the Giro and the Tour, whether to race or not...
In exactly one week we're leaving for France, this time has flown by. Whether or not to run is a very personal choice.Put yourself in my shoes, after the Giro I basically started another Giro. This cycling has to be done like this, otherwise it's better not to do it.
So, how?
You have to completely undo yourself and there is little time to do anything else. You must dedicate yourself completely to this disciplineYou have to build an environment around yourself that allows you to do this and lets you feel at ease. It was different before, the group was like a familyThere was more dialogue, more respect, decisions were made together. Instead now there are a thousand things to think about, there is also more stress.
Why?
Because simply there are more riders than when he ran, for example Andrea Tafi (father of his partner Greta, ed.), but also of when the generation after his was racing, that of Bartoli and Bettini. There are more riders, but always the same number of teamsThere are more and more young people and very young people knocking on the door. And a team thinks twice before renewing the contract of, for example, a thirty-one year oldI'm covered until 2024, but the issue will concern me from next year. Nibali said he had his best years after thirty, but that's no longer the case.
How do you defend yourself?
I have two legs and two arms and like everyone, I am human and I realize that I need some quiet time at home to recharge and then give my best at the Tour de France. I haven't played in the Italian championship for two or three years now, and without the Andorra training camp I would have gone. I'm the first to be sorry about it., also because this year it would be suitable for me and I'm doing reasonably well, but I preferred it this way.
You'll be thirty in October. Do you really think anything will change?
As I was saying before, at thirty you're pretty… old. I feel like… I have fewer years ahead of me than I have spent and this is something new and undeniable, I don't think I can run for another 10 years. So we regret it even more when we miss opportunities.I have a sense that time is running out and every moment left is wasted, whereas before I didn't think about it, I didn't take it into account. Well, I thought I was eternal.I thought cycling was my whole life, but instead you grow up, you grow up, you think. And now I get angry with myself when I miss an opportunity.
Speaking of opportunities, last year you left the Tour with a second-place finish in Mende. You were in the breakaway all day, pulling for others, but you were the strongest…
That was a combination of factors. I didn't expect to be so strong in the finalI also had a knee problem that eventually went away. That's how it wentLast year it was a Tour based on chasing stages, we were trying to get points for the WorldTour rankingThis year will be a little different, at least at the start. We're going to France with the aim of supporting Richard Carapaz 1.000 per thousand. and the discussion about the stages will come later, in case he doesn't give us guarantees in the standings.
So everyone lined up and covered?
The priority is this, they said it right away. Magnus Cort Nielsen He would like to win a stage at the Tour and try to make it a hat-trick at the Vuelta, but he too has been told that this year he's working towards the general classification. However, if they give me carte blanche for a day, I will try as always to be ready..
Is there any enthusiasm in starting out knowing you have to shoot, with individual possibilities so limited?
I get very excited when it comes to the Tour de France, because I already saw the podium in Paris with Uran in 2017. I get emotional when one of my teammates wins, it's as if I had won. and this is perhaps also my limit. I am very altruistic and to me This whole thing of fighting for the Tour victory or at least for a podium really excites me..
Can we say, speaking of you, that the Tour becomes a great launch for the World Championship?
I had clear goals this year. One was the Northern campaign, but unfortunately it was cancelled because I got very ill.At that point the Giro came up, but the Tour remained because it is an objective and also the best approach to the World Championships. We've always talked about it with Daniele (Bennati, ed.), he obviously knows this and is very happy.
