The morning of Castelraimondo, with the Tirreno leaving for Lido di Fermo the day after the… bad stage of Castelfidardo, Luca Spada in jeans and a light blue jacket was talking to Basso and his athletes from Eolo-KometaA bit like Paolo Zani, who at the races would blend in with the Liquigas staff, Mr Aeolus He was in the group for a few days and experienced the race and the team, delving into the mechanisms of cycling in which he is now totally immersed. But this time the desire to know him came to us, After hearing Basso talk about it, he had a phrase that had been echoing in his head for some time: "You don't have to convince an entrepreneur; he has to convince himself. You can show him what cycling can do for his company, but if you start tugging at his sleeve, he'll definitely show you the door." What convinced Luca Spada to embark on this fascinating journey?
"It's still early in the season," he smiles. "I'm still getting to know everyone. I've been following cycling intensely for a year. I like to go up in the flagship to discover the strategies behind itI come from the world of running and everything is simpler, while in cycling anything can happen. Like our poor Gavazzi, who could have done well in Laigueglia, instead fell and even hurt his elbow. It's a very exciting world, I want to learn as much as possiblePlus, I also like cycling. I need to lose a couple of kilos, because I've seen that even just one kilo on a bike makes a difference when going uphill."
Why cycling?
I'd been thinking about new communication channels for a while. More out of passion than investment, I'd started sponsoring running races. Small numbers, yet a decent return. Then it happened that... My doctor suggested I include a couple of cycling workouts a week., because running six days a week, my knees would have taken their toll. And at that point I began to learn about cycling and became passionate about it. But la Eolo-Kometa it was born from a series of coincidences that lined up.
Which?
The acquaintance with Ivan Basso at Gran Fondo Tre Valli Varesine. The fact that due to Covid some of its important sponsors had left. And then the fact of having sponsored the RCS classics and in particular the Strade BiancheIt was the first race after the lockdown, there was a stellar starting field and the image return we got from it was incredibleAt that point I decided to commit to a long-term project, with a three-year contract and convincing other major sponsors to do the sameIf you want to make a project that lasts, a slow construction is neededAnd we want to look at the long term, it's no coincidence that the team is very young.
Someone discussed the value of athletes.
When we were in the middle of the transfer market, I told Ivan to definitely look for boys who were talented, but to privilege the character aspectI like to create an ideal climate, just like in a company. I don't want the free hitter, even if he's talented, if he doesn't integrate.The foundation of success is corporate happiness, which you achieve if your employees are well, play sports, work in a bright environment, are relaxed and therefore perform at 150 percent.
What do you think of the professional cyclist?
He is a dreamer who loves hard work and in this I understand him well.In the races I take part in, like the Tour de Geants (350 kilometres and 30.000 metres of altitude difference), you experience fatigue in all its facets. I'm getting to know these guys by riding bikes with themThey are happy with what they do, they turned their passion into a professionYou can see it in their eyes that they like it and are super involved in the project. And like them, the staff is made up of enthusiastic people.
Sports and business
Love for sport is crucial, but Spada's reasoning is also and above all that of the manager, who has also identified cycling as an excellent investment. And so, in the discussion, the reasoning of the entrepreneur emerges at times he rightly saw in sport an excellent vehicle to tell the world about his feat: what is right and what Basso was able to tell well.
How is cycling functional for Eolo company?
We bring the internet where the internet doesn't reach. Eolo was born in 2006 with a view to the 7.000 Italian municipalities with fewer than 10.000 inhabitants. The digital divide Even today, it creates a profound difference between those who live in the city and have fiber optics and those who live outside and still get by with a worn-out ADSL connection. With our technology, we bring them 100 megabits. Cycling does what we do: it takes riders to small towns rather than big cities and we really like this message.When we embarked on this adventure, it was not only to have the name Eolo written on the shirt, but to manage the team as a piece of our companyWe will involve them in the TV commercial we are about to shoot and in other promotional activities. For the same reason we inaugurated Casa Eolo, a 600-square-meter headquarters where they can feel at home. I want them to feel like they're part of a long-term project. We have entered this world and we want to stay here for a long time..
Is there an unspoken ambition?
With a little modesty, I would like to do as Commendatore Borghi did in my own small way., Cumenda, the founder of Ignis, who did great things with basketball and football in Varese. I am very attached to our territory and perhaps Eolo was born precisely because I grew up in a small town, Malgesso, and I had to get on my bike and ride for miles just to buy a computer magazine.
Image or results?
We've paid a lot of attention to the image. The uniform. The graphics. There's a stylistic coherence that we carry with us, because I think that good performances also depend on a sense of cleanliness and rigorThen there's the rest. Good coaches, good training camps, and the right nutrition. I was almost paranoid about this with Ivan.
Why?
Food is our main medicine, so I asked that the team be followed by a nutritionist That teaches them how to eat on the run, but above all in everyday life. There's no point in being careful during the season and then eating chips and drinking Coca-Cola by the gallon. You need to have a healthy diet for it to become a real lifestyle..
Tell the truth: have you ever regretted not discovering cycling sooner to become a racer?
Oh no, come on… (laughs, ed.) I've done something good in life too.But I like riding with them and talking while we pedal because it creates a more genuine connection. Maybe I'll hold out until they warm up, because once they start, I don't see them anymore, since they have double my watts. That's fine with me, though, I swear...
