Maurizio fondryest he is certainly not famous for being a great time trialist, he built his splendid cycling history in the classics, yet he was able to caress everlasting glory in a race against time, at the first Olympic Games reserved for professionals, in Atlanta in 1996, finishing just off the podium.
«My bad luck was to run on a wet road – recalls the Trentino – otherwise I would have reached the podium, I managed to achieve a sensational time thanks to my driving, my approach to the curves, because that too is an element that can make the difference. However, it was a different time trial than those we face today, longer, even if the wind was already changing."
Yes, because the length of time trials (and cycling events in general, we might say) is not the same as it was then, or even more so than in previous years. There's no need to go back to the heroic post-war era, when time trials began to become a regular feature of the Grand Tours; just remember 1987, for example. when Stephen Roche won the Futuroscope time trial at Tour 87,5 kilometers long, or when in 1991 Indurain he beat ashlar e Chiappucci also thanks to the 73 and 57 kilometre time trials.
Once upon a time there was an 87,5 kilometer time trial…
Il Line of Business? Even without reaching these numbers, the Giro d'Italia also had important mileages: in 1980 Bernard Hinault secured his triumph in the Turbigo time trial, despite finishing behind saroni after 50 km or in 2000 when a 45 km time trial was run in Bibione. However, a distinction must be made regarding races against the clock.
«I believe that a time trial between 40 and 50 kilometers is the right distance for a titled race – continues Fondriest – from the World Championships to the Olympics, but in the Grand Tours the long time trials risked killing the race, creating too large gaps in favor of the specialists and taking away from the spectacle».
Technique and spectacle, the right balance
Precisely this, the spectacle, is a discriminating factor that cannot be underestimated in today's cycling, indeed it strongly regulates its processes: «We need to find the right mix, containing the times but at the same time maintaining the right technical characteristics. The great classics, for example, did not bow to this law. and the rolls of honor are always signed by great riders. I don't think people complain about this..."
The Olympic race on July 28 will be over 44 kilometersIt's a fair distance for a time trial, which leaves room for more riders. In a race like this, a favorite can have a bad day, or a surprise performance, but it will always be a relative surprise, because the podium will always come from a small circle of fewer than 10 names. The important thing is to be among them.
There is definitely one. Ganna: «Many have been concerned about the his defeat at the Italian championships, but only he knows how things really went, because it is clear that his goal was not and could not be thoseA bad day can be part of the normal course of things, after all. evenepoel e Campenaerts they lost the Belgian title against Lampaert, which no one predicted. In Turin, at the Giro, Ganna had gone very strong, but it came from stinging defeats, I don't think there's anything to worry about."
Yet, that day, with a bit of luck…
Fondriest still has something to say about mileage: «Let's try to turn the discussion around and look at the duration, rather than the distance: 20 minutes at full speed, out of the limit, almost everyone can do it, already at 30 minutes there is a distinction, at 40 you have to be a specialist. For this reason I believe that a time trial of at least 40 kilometers is sufficient to bring out the true values."
Before closing this pleasant chat, Fondriest wants to get something off his chest: «It's true that I wasn't a specialist, but in time trials I always did quite well.I always finished in the top 15 in the Grand Tours, and one year I almost won the Trofeo Baracchi, a time trial for two cyclists over 80 kilometers, alongside Australian Allan Peiper. I was among that group of 10 potential candidates we mentioned earlier, who, with a bit of luck, could experience the race of their lives. I came close to it, I tasted it for a few brief moments.
