In the life of anyone and of an athlete in particular, Knowing how to seize opportunities is what makes the real difference. When it became clear that at Flanders the outgoing winner Pogacar would not have been there and that Van Aert and Stuyven would also have been missing for the fall of WaregemThe race for second place was on. How many people could have fought for the title of viceroy? Plenty, from Pedersen to Matthews, including Bettiol and Wellens: behind Van der Poel were athletes of undoubted merit. The only one who managed to play his cards perfectly was Luca Mozzato from ArzignanoA man who has never made any proclamations, with a decent number of followers and a constantly rising career. Ever since 2020, when he wanted to turn professional, he resigned himself to staying out of the WorldTour while his peers Battistella, Sobrero, and Konychev were destined for the upper echelons.
Do you think he took it personally? Not at all. And even today, when he thinks about that decision, he blesses the concreteness that inspired it. Ladies and gentlemen, you already know it because we've told you about it on a thousand and one occasions, but This is Luca Mozzato after his second place in the Tour of Flanders and on the eve of Roubaix. One who is not afraid of giants of the North, because he learned to respect them and study himself.
You also ran the Scheldeprijs on Wednesday. Wouldn't you have done better to rest a bit?
Perhaps In hindsight, I should have taken a breather.But it wasn't supposed to be a too demanding race, it was convenient for the team and so I went.
What if you had been told as a child that you would come second at the Tour of Flanders?
Maybe it wouldn't have been good for me, I would have said I wanted to win it. But as you grow up you change and if someone had told me this a month ago, I would have been incredulous. Now that it's happened, I'm super happy. I've received a lot of messages like Tour two years ago And it's something I'm not used to. For the rider I've always been, I've never found myself at the center of attention. But I understand that Seeing me in the heat of the race changes people's perception of meIt's nice, but I don't think I'll ever get used to these kinds of emotions, I'll never take them for granted.
Second in the Tour of Flanders.
The result certainly exceeded our wildest expectations. Objectively, the goal in the morning was to arrive in the first group that could be called such. So generally, excluding those who are playing for the race, being in the group between twelfth and twentieth position, depending on the size of the group and how the race went. That could have been a goal if the situation had been favorable. So at best I could have gotten into the top ten, let's say eighth place. I couldn't have even imagined reaching the podium.
What was it like climbing Qwaremont for the last time? What did you think?
I really understood that the podium was still in play in the last two kilometers. On the radio they told me that there weren't many in front, but still the feeling was that Bettiol and Teuns were a little too far awayWe pursuers were also quite lucky, because from Paterberg to Oudenaarde there wasn't much wind, and what little there was was in our faces. This helped us a lot. The wind played in our favor and we were good at collaborating.The opportunity to get on the podium was tempting, so we all went for it. We couldn't expect the four of us to UAE Emirates They started to act like we were halfway there. The last thing that really worked in our favor was the fact that we never looked at each other. At two points, the numerically superior players started attacking us, and we, without stopping, we managed to catch the fugitives right on the line.
When you saw them, what went through your head?
As we drove towards Oudenaarde, I counted the riders to see how many I had to put behind me to get into the top tenI knew I was pretty fast, but peak speed after six and a half hours of running is a relative thing. It was more of a sprint with my remaining energy. I tried to do my best, and luckily I was faster.
You had a chance and you took it.
If Van Aert and Stuyven had been there, it would have been a completely different race, and we'd probably be talking about the exact opposite. But as you said, cycling is also about knowing how to seize opportunities. I was presented with a very tasty one and I think I did my best.. Objectively Van der Poel was on another level and having this awareness, I collected as much as possible. Let's start from the assumption that For me everything went smoothly, because if it hadn't been like that it would have been difficult to come in second. The racing situation went well and I had one of the best days of my career at the right time, which allowed me to finish on the podium in one of the biggest classics.
You've always been down to earth, ever since you turned professional...
I think everyone has to follow their own path. I believe I've made all the right choices, starting from the assumption that when I moved on I didn't have the chance to go to a WorldTour teamBut, as we often said, I wouldn't have been ready either, so it was almost a stroke of luck that I went to a smaller team. I have always been able to play my chances in second and third tier races and so I managed not to lose the attitude of running ahead. Maybe if I had gone to a team with great leaders, they would have asked me to make myself available and I would have lost my winning mentalityAnd this pays off in the long run.
Paris-Roubaix tomorrow, with what goal?
The goal is to have a good run. I tried to recover as best as possible and I hope to have a day like last SundayObviously, I'll start with the same idea of staying in the thick of things as much as possible and fighting for a spot. My concrete ambition is to finish in the top 10, but I'll still need favorable situations.
You're a 68-kilo rider, how come you feel so comfortable on cobblestones?
In my opinion, it's mostly a matter of attitude. Before this Northern campaign, I was convinced that I was not strong enough for Flanders and that I was too light for the RoubaixOf the two, the Flanders was probably the toughest for me because it's really tough at the end. But given how it went, the dream is to finish ahead tomorrow too, and then we'll see.
Did the team celebrate your placement properly?
They were definitely happy too. Because for me it was even the first WorldTour podium and getting it in a race like that I think was a turning point. But it was also the first podium in a Monument for the Arkea-B&B Hotels, so everyone was happy, starting with the directors and the staff. The manager was also there, so it was definitely a great moment to share together. Then, if we want to talk about a celebration, we couldn't overdo it because we still had to race on Wednesday and in view of Roubaix. So We held back a bit, but we didn't miss out on a nice hamburger with fries.
So now you'll have to ask for a raise?
We'll have to negotiate (laughs, ed.). I still have a year left on my contract, but we'll see if my agent, Manuel Quinziato, does his job well.
He's laughing. The second place in Flanders certainly gave him greater awareness of his abilities.Given Luca Mozzato's career so far, we're certain he'll never stop building the athlete he always thought he could become. The last Italian Monument podium was at the 2023 Lombardy Olympics, with Bagioli finishing second behind Pogacar. The pursuit continues.
