After being a rider and champion, Michele Bartoli has undertaken with equal success the trainer's career. His riders achieve great results, but for some time now the Tuscan has noticed that things are changing, and not necessarily for the better. The relationship with the athletes is filtered by procedures that make everything complicated And so in the end, thanks to his love for cycling, Michele decided to start over. Let's be clear, the coaching work remains, but in parallel a new one will be born in 2026 academy with its name: MB AcademyMichele Bartoli Academy. They will start with the very young and take them up to the juniors, the first international category, and then they will decide whether to move up a notch.
«We had done a sort of trial with cyclocross – he explains – and it was nice, you could see the kids were happy. We closed because Since we only did cross-country, it was a problem to take kids who also wanted to go further and at the same time the other teams had a hard time sending us their athletesBut I want to try again. I have one job and that's that of a trainer, but you also have to do something that gives you satisfaction, a bit of transportI like what I do, when one of my riders wins it's as if I won. But the academy It's a whole other thing, it's hard to explain. As they say in Tuscany: I like it. So let's see if we can give some great experiences to some young cyclists, given that we have a nice budget that already covers us for the first few years..."
What is the goal?
I enjoy teaching and doing a good job. Obviously, I don't want to overdo things. Starting with the very young and reaching the juniors in the space of two or three years and then maybe reflect on whether or not it's worth moving on. We've got the right companies involved to possibly do something bigger nextFor us it's a departure, but it's the same for these companies too.
Where did this idea come from?
From the desire to do things as they should. We need to teach families the right way to raise their children to be athletes.We teach professionals to win, but it is clear that Every age has its own lesson and from a very young age you must focus on the playful aspectWhen you're a rookie, you add something specific. When you're a student, you add more, and even more in the juniors, which is the first international category. Parents who take such a step must have faith in us.. Because we try to give it the guarantee that if the boy doesn't fit in for any reason, he'll still be with us the following year and we'll take him to the next category. If he doesn't find the team, we've got the team.
Do you think there's already a fear of being left out in the youth categories?
My brother frequents the environment and tells me that There are many kids in the youth and rookie categories who are afraid of not finding a team the following yearThat's what we'd like to avoid, so we can work the right way. Then, obviously, there's the more interesting kid and the less interesting one, but in any case, you always work with the same system.
Why not start right away with a junior team?
One of the companies that supports us asked me: Why don't we create an international category right away? They'd be interested, they've made it clear, but we want to bring the kids we've raised into the juniors. A bit like the youth teams of a soccer team. They make the first selection at six years old, we might be taller, but... the idea is to take the children and raise them and place them in the next category each timeObviously we won't be able to have 30 kids per age group; we'll set a limit so we can support them properly. And we don't necessarily want to go after the strongest, otherwise we go back to the philosophy of doing the exaggerated things that we would like to avoid.It's not at all difficult to make kids win…
How you do it?
You train them three times as hard and see how they go, but then what? We don't want to make leaps without there being a philosophy and an ethic behind them.I want to share with the students what we've had in the youth sectors. There might be the exception of a family whose child already runs and wants to join our cause. We could also take it, but we also want to give linearity to the projectStarting with the very young and then the beginners, then the students and finally the juniors.
What will you make available to these kids?
As much assistance as possible, even in terms of safety. We are now also in contact with il Municipality of Vicopisano which is helping us in an incredible way. They have identified some roads that are already somewhat prepared, where there is little traffic, which will be closed 3-4 times a week, for an hour and a half each time, so that the youngsters can practice. We've already been to see it, and they've asked us to send them photos of any potholes because they'll have to have them resurfaced. It's an important help, which guarantees families the possibility of training on a closed and well-paved circuit, everything is a beautiful thing.
You speak in the plural. Who is behind your academy?
Mia Moglie, my brother and a friend who was a fan of mine and had experience in the Federation. For now we are four people, however We have already identified two sports directors who are esteemed by the community and we have already hired the staff who will accompany the children. Whenever they are with us they must have the best possible assistance. The two sporting directors are a 18 year old boy And I tell you, it's not easy to find someone so young and so passionate to come to the races on Sunday instead of going with friends. And then another one who is under 40 years oldHe used to race bikes too, and now his son races, but he's already older. They both liked the project and accepted it, also because it will be an opportunity for both of them to grow.
What bikes will you be racing with?
Finding someone who makes kids' bikes was the hardest part. We bought the bikes, but the bikes? I talked to Pinarello. I also looked at Decathlon, but in the end we chose to work with Neighbors, in RomagnaI got the number, we talked, and they said yes.
What will your role be?
There will be moments when we will talk, others when we will pedal togetherI'll also give them some training tips, and we'll do a lot of gymkhanas at the beginning to get them used to driving. At that age there is not only the actual training, which is limited between 3 and 10 kilometers. We want to teach him to ride a bike well, to have mastery of the mediumThey'll take advantage of those closed roads, doing everything safely. If other teams want to ride on that same route, there's no restriction: there are no barriers. Cycling is for everyone!
