In a few more days, the curtain will rise on women's cycling. Among the girls raring to go for the start of the season is Martina Alzini, who left the Valcar-Travel&Service after two seasons to land in the French Cofidis Women's cycling Team (two-year contract).
If on the track the Milanese (who will turn 25 on February 10th and is portrayed in the opening photo by Equipe Cofidis) is a fixed point – won three European U23 gold medals in the team pursuit and a world silver medal last October – on the road, however, he definitely wants to establish himself to understand what his qualities are. He recently finished the ten-day retreat with the national team in Calpe, Spain and before she leaves again with the new team we reached her by phone to hear her mood and intentions.
Martina, after three days in Slovenia with the track team at the end of December, now this Italian road team training camp. How did it go?
Very well. The younger girls and I have had the honor of working and training with strong and humble athletes like Cecchini e BastianelliYou can see they have a lot of experience, they always know how to give you the right tip that will come in handy in the future. I would love to be able to apply these tips on the road. and in the same way I would like to be like them by helping the younger ones on the track. I work to earn some call-ups on the street too.
Have you noticed any changes under Sangalli's management?
We already knew Paolo before in different roles (he was former manager Salvoldi's assistant, ed.), but now he's in charge. He and Dino have very valid, but different, ways of working, and I'm absolutely not criticizing those who were there before. Paolo treated us like professionals in every way, meeting each of our needs. Even though we were all training together, some of us had extra things to do. Or at the table, some of us had extra nutritional rules to follow. No one ever judged what we were doingIt was also nice to compare with Elizabeth Borgia (psychologist of the national team and of Trek-Segafredo, ed.). In short, I really appreciated this proactive spirit.. And there's more…
What?
Sangalli made it clear right from the start his philosophy for the calls in blueA way of thinking that closely matches that of teams and that I like a lot. That is, We are not judged by our weight, how much we train or the final ranking of a race, but by what we did in the race.We will be seen on the pitch, on how we performed, whether we helped our team, and how we worked. Some might say that these are obvious things, but when your coach tells you, it always makes you happy..
Cofidis, above all, seems like the right team to keep the track scene alive, especially with Paris 2024 in sight. We saw this in 2021 among the men with Viviani and Consonni.
I will never abandon the track, I want to reiterate this. I saw how well they let the two of them work and I must say that some advice from Simone (Consonni, ed.) also influenced my choice to come here. I know that I will find the right professionalism and a non-exasperated environment which will allow me to bring out the best version of myself between the track and the road.
What will your 2022 road season with the French team be like?
I will try to become more aware of my resourcesI'm basically a fast-paced cyclist with a decent sprinting instinct and I don't mind slightly rough races, but I'd like to rediscover myself. I would like to understand what my characteristics really areI hope to be able to carve out some space for myself in the classics and aim for some good results overall.
Have you already planned your debut and part of your schedule?
I will debut from February 17th to 20th at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana, then races in the North between Belgium and FranceI would like to run both the Giro d'Italia Donne and the Tour de France FemmesI'm trying not to end up in the first place and then compromise the second, since they're held a fortnight apart. I'd like to do well in both races and hope I can be of help to the team.
You're about to play your seventh season, all with top teams. Do you have any messages to share with the juniors who are making the elite team or with the young players who are maturing a little later?
My philosophy in life, both for school and for cycling, is to take one step at a time. It's okay to set big goals, but you have to achieve the small ones first.i. While you're studying, you have to think about school, because if it goes badly, it's difficult to recover or go back. You need to look at the people in the team rather than choosing them based on their name.. And you have to have a team that has patience and trust in youIn this respect, perhaps I made a mistake in joining the elite with a strong team like Alè Cipollini (it was 2016, ed.). At the time, I was a student before I was a cyclist, and young riders shouldn't forget this because those are delicate years. If I had to go back, having seen how he works, I would choose Valcar.
Martina, allow us to end with a joke. Your boyfriend, Benjamin Thomas, will also be racing in the men's Cofidis team. It's a family challenge. Who between you two will score your first podium of the season?
He, just because he starts running much earlier than me, not because he is stronger. Please write carefully, just as I dictated (laughs, ed.). I know he's keen on his first races in France, and obviously I wish him good results right away.
