GORIZIA – His voice is shaky, and his glasses can't completely hide his emotion. Carlo Beretta doesn't know what to say, what to think. The team manager, if we can call him that, of this ASD, Swat Club, is overwhelmed by a whirlwind of feelings. Something huge, unexpected just happened. A dream come true: one of his, Filippo Conca, he just graduated as Italian champion.
At the start in Trieste, they had a gazebo and a van. Everyone, including the riders, were busy unloading their bikes, setting up their chairs, and getting ready. In front of them was the bus. Polti-Kometa and the sea behind us. Everything flowed peacefully. Perhaps Conca seemed the most serious to us during the preparations. But who would have thought what would happen in a handful of hours?
At the end of the match, after this "sporting bomb," we couldn't help but talk to Beretta. To understand more, to understand how things will change from now on. And also to analyze the match, because in fact, if yesterday, when talking about teams, everyone they were waiting for the VF Group-Bardiani, the XDS-Astana and Polti-Kometa, the three most numerous, but the team that ran best and was most active was the Swatt Club.
Carlo, what happened?
I don't know, believe me. I don't know what to say, emotionally it's a blast. We had so much support today because there were so many guys from our team, our fans, who came to help us, who were at our corner on the climb, gave waterThere was a great motivation.
Of course, this is a very important stage for you…
Yes, but it wasn't essential. The starting directive was: have fun and smile. All this was the result of the hours of work that the boys did on their bikes and of their serenity, Because if you're as calm as they are, everything's fine. They've had fun all year. And today (yesterday, ed.) they gave everything they had inside.
The question is: a club, not even a Continental one, that beats the big ones… Maybe this thing says a little that there's something not quite right in Italian cycling, no?
That's been known for a long time, but it doesn't depend on us. We do our own thing and our own races, in our own small way. Last year we had Hellemose, who this year returned to major cycling with Jayco-AlUla and it has proven to work well. The speech is big. In the end, these kids all have a drive, they're strong and need to be helped, understood and waited for. We shouldn't complain anymore and say that there's no one left in Italy. Generations have changed, but that doesn't mean we can't still be strong a few years later. For many of them, cycling is life, it's the best thing in the world. We just need to let them do what they feel like. The only thing I do on the team is give them their space, without pressure. For the rest, they're the ones who train.
How do they train?
They are all prepared by Gaffuri and the Vergallito. Come on... it's incredible what happened to Conca. Someone like him shouldn't have been here.We came from the amateur ranks, nobody gave us a penny and we scored a lot of UCI points in the few races we took part in. We even got a win in a 1.2 race with a Dane: Kasper Andersen.
And today (yesterday, for those reading)? Today wasn't a 1.2, and the controversy will continue. We're already wondering where we'll see this tricolor jersey again...
Today is absurd, a day that will go down in history. I don't even know what we have to do next year to move forward. Conca started the season and was supposed to only race gravel. Filippo asked me if he could do a race in Austria and I said, “Of course you can.” I gave him the chance, we knew he could do Italian, but I didn't know what stage he was at. I hope he finds a team:The Swatt Club is of no use to Conca, it's wasted. My goal was to get it back to where it was before, because that's where it belongs.
They might bring him to you soon, but since he's not a pro, he's a free agent. In football, we'd call him a free agent...
I hope he goes away. And so does Gaffuri and the other guys. That's the goal. I don't have the structure to support them. I only want to help those who no one helps, who are left stranded. Those who have potential, obviously. Filippo Conca has a significant track record. His numbers are frightening. (Yesterday, Quinziato, his manager, also told us about extremely high values over 10 minutes, ed.) This is not his place, I repeat.
Will this victory change anything in your team?
I'll move forward with my ideas. We decided overnight to create a club team that would compete in UCI races. The sponsors we have, Giant, Cadex, Pirelli, Shimano, Lazer, have given us a hand, But it was more for the gravel world. But I didn't want to abandon the road because it can be a significant help: we saw it with Hellemose. There they really have the chance to prove their worth.
Carlo, you mentioned "racing with a smile," but tactically you also had a great race, perhaps the best of all. Lorenzo Ginestra and Francesco Carollo were in the breakaway at the start, and Gaffuri and Conca counterattacked in the finale...
I didn't hear what he said to him Giorgio Brambilla, the sports director (a former rider and also a young man, born in 1988, ed.), in the team car. Surely he will have communicated something to him, but The best tactics come to you when you're at 200 beats per minute: a nod of understanding with your partner who, if he believes in the same idea as you, understands you and everything becomes easier.
How is the Swatt Club organized?
We are very few people. Even today (yesterday, ed.), between feed zone and logistical support, they were all friends, people from the club, people who work Monday to Friday and help us out on weekends. We're a group of amateurs, friends, who live for this passion. And when these people come, they give 180 percent, and maybe everything becomes easier.
How much is your budget?
I think we'll get to 100.000 euros, if we go over it, it'll be by a little. We have 16 riders (7 foreigners, ed.), and we did 23 days of racing in total, which isn't a lot. Sponsors help us cover all these expenses. We sell clothing on our e-commerce site, we sell a lot of white leotards like the ones you saw in the race. Fortunately, we sell a lot of them, and all the proceeds go back to the team. I don't know how long this will be sustainable, but at least for this year, we've done everything we could.
You're manager of the year, in short. David defeating Goliath...
Ninth… If a manager saw our bank account and our income and expenses, he would tell us: "You are not normal." 10 comes in and 10 comes out. But we want to do it this way for now, because we live for this passion.
What's going through your head now?
I don't even know what to think, I mean It's crazy. I just want to wait for all my fan friends who were on the route and be with them. The only thing that will remain will be the emotions and the wait for this day since November.
