In these days Yankee Germano is in PolandThe Friulian masseur of the Soudal-Quick Step he arrived in caravan after having The windshield of the van shattered by hail was changed in record time, which also damaged the roof of the house and the car of his partner, who will become his wife on October 14th. In this adrenaline-filled life, which is difficult even to describe, Yankee found a way to catch his breath at the team's training camp in Passo San Pellegrino (opening, photo Visit Val di Fassa). It was already going up in the Liquigas days, while this time he escorted evenepoel and all the riders not involved in the Tour de France. This is how Remco's condition to win San Sebastian was born and to put the rainbow jersey back up for grabs next Sunday.
So we took advantage of Yankee for let us tell you about these days far from the usual landing place of Livigno, to find out more and understand what we can expect from the Belgian blond.
Back on retreat in San Pellegrino, in short...
I had already been there when I worked at Liquigas, exactly. We had also gone there with Quick Step in the year of the lockdown, when they announced the resumption of racingWe were leaving mid-season, so we went up for twenty days, almost a month, and we had a really good time. However, the agreement with Livigno was still pending, so when it expired, a new one was signed with theHotel Cristallo at the San Pellegrino Pass.
How did you find yourself?
They were very helpful with us. Diego, the owner of the hotel, told us that he cares a lot because it has several Belgian tourists who go there in the winter to ski. So as a return trip, I imagine it would be convenient to have Evenepoel's team trainingThey gave us everything we needed. The kitchen was also at our disposalThe chefs did what we asked. It seems like little, but already lunch time is a theme importantIf you work four hours, maybe you'll have lunch at 14 pm. But when it's seven o'clock, you arrive at the table late in the afternoon and then dinner, given the time of the massages, must be moved. In terms of nutrition, Our dietitian had made a list of what riders should eat and we never went off it..
Complete attention, from meals to workouts?
It was all settled. The training plan, the hours, and consequently the menu. The riders were happy. Of course, the place is challenging. For sprinters there is a lot of climbing, while in Livigno they had those 20 kilometers of tunnels that allow you to do specific workBut they liked it too. They went down to Val di Fassa or towards Belluno and every day there was the possibility of taking a different route.The climbers, with Remco and the others, really have fun with all the climbs in the surrounding area.
Remco said he did a really good job…
He worked really well and so did the whole group that followed him. The atmosphere was serene, calm, without tension.. Since you're at the top of the pass, there are only hotels around, nothing else. So the group became even more united. After dinner we stopped at the bar for a Coke and in the meantime we chatted, laughed, and played cards. At one point they did the tournament with the PlayStation. Everything helps to form a team…
And in the meantime, did they train hard as you've heard?
They went for it. They were all those who didn't do the Tour, the rest of the team, except for a few who were already at altitude. Like James Knox, who lives in Andorra, or Cattaneo, who lives in St. Moritz and stayed home.
Did they always come out divided into two groups?
The first few days they even made a single group. But having 16 riders can be a problem since the roads are narrow.So they took different routes, or if they had to do the same thing, they left in staggered groups, with 20 minutes between each group. Maybe they stopped to drink coffee all together and then set off again in staggered fashion, so as not to disturb the traffic.Drivers respect you, foreigners perhaps even more, perhaps because they're taught it in driving schools.
Not with us?
We on the staff have driving licenses for heavy vehicles and buses and every so often I have to go and do the renewalAnd I argue every time in Italy, because those who have truck and bus licenses do not exceed the correct distance and maybe they even play at the last minute.
Have you ever gone down to Moena on your day off to be among the people?
Someone went down to drink coffee, then it was I got back on my bike with peace of mindThe beauty of up there, in my opinion, is that it's truly a team retreat. You wake up, have breakfast, workout, and massage. You recover, eat, and sleep, while other places may distract you. On recovery days, it happened that they organised a mountain bike ride, something easy on the trails to drink coffee and maybe eat a slice of strudel in some refugeIn the end, you don't even feel like going down and then going back up, because on one side or the other, it's more than 10 kilometers of uphill, even tough.
Was there also any sporting director?
Bramati, who usually does these retreats, in the end they wanted to bring him to be the first team car at the Tour de France. So the first week there were only the two coaches: Vasili Anastoupoulos and Koen PelgrimThen, halfway through the retreat, Klas Lodewyck arrived.
Good weather or stormy like at your house?
The first few days it rained in the morning, like in the mountains where it is very changeable, so sometimes we delayed the departure by half an hour. Then it was always nice, in fact the first few days it was a bit chilly, so they started off covered up, also because they were cycling down from 2.000 metres. Instead after 5-6 days the heat bomb came out, both from the Moena and Belluno sides.
Really that hot?
When I used to go out on my bike too, I looked at the thermometers in the villages, the ones in the pharmacies, and they showed up to 37 degreesLuckily, even though the temperature reached 30-32 degrees, it was breezy and easier to bear. In any case, when they returned to the hotel, the water bottles were always empty.
Were there any cycle tourists who followed the boys?
I would say no. Maybe. there was a tourist who came to see and asked to take a photo, because there's a lot of bike tourism up there. But they were all pretty discreet. They'd come over, we'd tell them what to do, and they'd wait for the right moment. Maybe upon returning, after they had finished discussing the training and before going to the room.
Were you also able to follow the Tour?
Every day, while getting massages. For us it was a bit critical until the Asgreen's victory, but my impression is that the others were really from another planet. Those two are strong, though. For me the strongest is Van AertSeeing how he helped the other guy up the climb, weighing 75 kilos, was impressive. And this year he was even lighter than last year. He'll have a great World Championship…
As long as he gets along with Remco. Last year it didn't seem like it...
But I saw that when they do rollers to cool down, they have a chatThey pat each other on the back, perhaps the two roosters are getting used to each other. And Remco really does have a great leg…
