The definition that Elisa Longo Borghini gives of herself using the adjective “montagnina” is suddenly clarified when the highway exits the last tunnel and lands in the Ornavasso valley. It's the door to another world. Silent. Made of stone and wood.. With the gigantic marble quarry from which the marble of the Milan Cathedral was extracted, which pierces the mountain in front, to reaffirm the solidity of these stones and these people.
It's a Friday of races around the world. At the Simac Ladies Tour, Anastasia Carbonari has just experienced the harshness of the asphalt, instead the Ossola Valley stopped for a few hours in honor of its champion.
Guests and friends
They arrived for her Elisa Balsamo, Davide Plebani and Tatiana Guderzo, Francesca Barale and Leo Hayter, the teammate winner of the U23 Giro. But above all they arrived the Alpine troops, the fathers and mothers, the children of the Pedale Ossolano where Elisa also took her first stepsIt is the country that embraces her and has chosen to do so. il Sanctuary of the Madonna del Boden, one of the sacred places of cycling.
The road lifts you out of the valley, which soon remains low. The children climb from bend to bend, small as cute woodland elvesThey will welcome Elisa and walk the last few meters with her. There are also his nephews and his brother Paolo, who is holding little Pietro in his arms who sleeps blissfully. There is his world and there is his different gaze from that of racing.
«It's always nice to be rewarded here at my house – she smiles, with her shirt, jeans, a touch of make-up and her Trek – because anyway I feel part of a communityAnd it's nice, because being always away, you run the risk of being a little alienated from everything. Instead, this way they make me feel at home. It motivates me a lot to see the kids of the Ossola Pedal, the society in which I also grew upThe fact that they are present and enthusiastic about me and about everything that is going on around our movement, even with Pippo Ganna and Francesca Barale, it's really exciting."
Goofy at high altitude
Ganna is preparing for the World Cup as usual Omaroli refuge at very high altitude, which as the crow flies is just a stone's throw from here. With him is Matteo Sobrero. The two come out from a video message for Elisa and the applause is thunderous. However, the Ganna parents are here and tell of the beauty of the place.
«In theory it would be close – Marco smiles – but if you miss the last cable car, you stay downIt's nice at the top, there's wifi and there's no wifi. They must have had to go outside to send that message."
Then they tell of the climb that continues beyond the Sanctuary and of Pippo who will soon leave for Australia. Around there are trees and silence and in that reclaiming of one's origins, there is the dimension of Longo.
The hard head
Montagnino means know the rulesAppreciate the rock from which you come. Have developed the inner strength to leave home and take on the world. And then immediately have the desire to return. Not for nothing, the house where he lives with Jacopo Fly it's at the first two kilometers of this same climb.
«My head is as hard as rocks – she says – as a good Ornavassese. It's been a strange year so far. In fact I missed all the appointments I had made.On the other hand, I won many other races that I didn't expect and in a way I didn't expect. The Paris-Roubaix, but also won the Women's cycling's Tour thanks to a sprintA strange year, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was worse. A year with a smile. Another year with a smile.».
Little warriors
The children of the Ossola Pedal they look at her like they do with an older sisterThe friend comes before the champion. For them, there's the bike, and the bike allows them to express themselves. That's a lot of money. Someone falls because they don't release the pedalHer granddaughter Anna approaches, but she is already grown up and smiles determinedly.
Among the audience there are also Paul Sangalli and Elisabetta Borgia, Italian coach and mental coachPaolo is in training camp nearby with the junior women, and you can see that having the two "Elises"—Longo and Balsamo—by his side makes the eve of the World Championships less tense. Paolo Barbieri, Trek-Segafredo's press officer, is also there. He says he's on vacation, but the two "Elises" are still worth a look...
«I'll leave them alone – says Sangalli – I understood that at these levels there is no need to stress themThey'll train. Elisa and Bertizzolo will do the Vuelta, but not because they have something to prove to me, just to get the job doneDid you like the Europeans? Rachele Barbieri he did an outstanding job, it's a pity that Balsamo if he wasn't on his best day, otherwise Wiebes didn't pass. But we were there."
See you in Wollongong
They talk about victories, they ask for medals… Don't they know it's not done? Superstition is a serious thing, we think, but meanwhile the sky threatens rain. Elisa has time to reel off another pearl.
«It's good to win medals – he says – but I don't see why this should change meSure, I have more commitments, but I still have to queue at Esselunga. Guercilena jokingly says that I live in KosovoBecause there aren't any shopping malls or anything else near the city. We're far away, but luckily there's a highway. But do you want to know something? I'm fine with it.».
Thanks for the invitation, Elisa.
Thank you for coming.
See you at the World Cup.
See you in Australia.
