How it was that Filippo Ganna decided to challenge and then conquered the Hour record is the reason why We meet with Dario Cioni in one of the most popular bars in Montelupo FiorentinoThe Tuscan technician of the Ineos Grenadiers He's busy picking olives in a season that's going pretty well, but this is a rest day for him too. Lunch in Lari among countless former riders and the afternoon with us. The magical night of Grenchen He's almost 40 days behind, but there's more to say. Cioni cares, we care. (in the opening, Ganna in the photo Ineos Grenadiers/Cauld Photo).
When was the project born?
After the 2020 Giro, when Moser joked that after winning three time trials, he could tryIn that race he had made a qualitative leap, so in the wake of the enthusiasm people started talking about it. Above all after the dominance in the Prosecco time trial, 34 kilometers long, with those steep climbs for almost 43 minutes of racing.
When to try?
In 2021, it was impossible, with the Olympics. And then there was work to do anyway. The project was born at the end of 2020, thinking about materials and guidelines. It was also necessary to return to the condition of that year. The plan was to see how he would perform at the European Championships in Plovdiv 2020, which however he didn't do it because of Covid. Already there he probably would have broken the 4-minute barrier in the pursuitIn any case, the machine was already in motion, with the study of the development lines. This is perhaps why it was inaccurate to make everything coincide with Bigham's record. The Ganna project had started well before.
Between 2021 and 2022, the clothing supplier changed…
In fact we had started talking about it with Castelli. The development of the time trial suit was already being done consistently between time trial and Ora, at speeds close to those of the recordThe development was done at 55 kilometers per hour, while if we had thought about the pursuit we would probably have had to work at a speed of 65 kilometers per hour. Then we switched to Bioracer, with the point of connection called Luca Oggiano, an aerospace engineer who collaborates with IneosAt first he collaborated with Castelli and then moved to Bioracer.
Did he continue on the same path in another company?
In practice, yes. It allowed us to continue working on the same concepts. In the end I guess that in Castelli They must have been disappointed not to have been there all the way. We continue to work with them on the national team, but as time goes by, we, as Ineos, will be less and less informed about their studies.
Has Philip's busy schedule slowed down development?
Our Customers I've worked a lot with fluid dynamics, Luca knows how to do it and in some ways he actually developed the technology himself (Luca Oggiano is in fact the CEO of NablaFlow, company specialized in fluid dynamics simulations, who oversaw the bike, suit, and glasses project, ed.). Everything was underway and in line with expectations. We knew that what had already been developed with Castelli it worked, so little was changed on the body.
For everything else?
For the helmet The largest Proton with fins on the lenses was bornWhile Pinarello wasn't expected to release the new bike: that was a last-minute development. In 2021, everyone was hard at work on the new Bolide Disc, it was not known whether the bike for the Ora would be derived from that or would be a new project. Thanks must be given to Pinarello for developing the technology and bike in such a short time, while At first we were all focused on completing the time trial bike to take to the Tour.
Why the idea of using 3D printing?
Let us not forget that in recent times, due to Covid it is not easy to find the materialThere was a risk of not being able to make the bike we wanted, so we turned to the press. And this allowed Luca to execute the project perfectly..
Pippo made us smile by saying that the bike seemed heavy to him.
Weight doesn't matter in a record. The bike has to be super stiff. Maybe he would have needed it a little lighter in the chase., but when he then threw it, the world record came anyway.
How does Bigham come into play?
It was useful for testing. When Goofy first got on his new bike, Bigham had already set his record. He was supposed to try, nothing strange. At the end of 2021 he had set the national record, more than Wiggins's Hour, less than CampenaertsIt had not been approved only because it was not registered on the Adams platform.
At a certain point, however, it seemed that Goofy had put Bigham's work to good use.
And that's what I'd like to clarify with the utmost serenity. Bigham was on Ganna's development team, but he wasn't the game-changer. He didn't tell you how to change Goofy's position, because it's essentially been the same for two years. Daniel certainly made some adjustments for himself. He participated in the study of the bike, but the solutions that seemed interesting we tried on Pippo on the last Friday of the GiroWork on the components, excluding the bike, was finished in May, although they were unveiled at the Tour.
How long did it take to convince Ganna?
He actually said yes right away. What we had underestimated, however, was the time needed to test the materials. The Tour had to be done anyway, because the prologue in Copenhagen and the possibility of winning the yellow jersey by starting in the rainbow jersey were superior to the Hour project.
So what would you change?
Let's go back, we wouldn't put it at the end of the seasonWe would go different ways to have a fresher approach. Maybe at the beginning, then using the work of the Record to enter the new season with a bang.
Too busy at the end of 2022?
Little time to prepare everything in the best way, but I must say that on his way to the record, having done the world cup was fundamentalCertain comments burned inside him: about ending the season immediately, about having failed… And this triggered the right determination.
The second part
The second part of this interview with Cioni It will be published tomorrow evening at 7:30 pmWe'll talk about what we didn't see in the preparation of the bike. Ganna's decline in the last 10 minutes. The team that worked for the record. And also about a little noise on the bike (which Ganna still knows nothing about) that drove the mechanics crazy on the eve of the Record…
