TERRE DI LUNI – The month of September has seen a series of top-level events for juniors. The Giro della Lunigiana has just finished and it's time to think about the European and World Championships., with the latter on everyone's lips. The Zurich route will be challenging, lively and will lead the race to be an elimination game.
Given the characteristics of the track, the two favourites seem to be Paul Seixas e Lorenzo Finn, the first two finishers at the Giro della Lunigiana. The gap given to the other 95 riders who finished the Race of Future Champions doesn't leave much to the imagination. Although, in all fairness, a protagonist has passed away in Tuscany: Albert Withen Philipsen, current World Champion category.
Word to the city
The arduous task of getting the boys ready for the world championship event falls, as always, to coach Dino Salvoldi (opening with Ruggero Cazzaniga and Simone Mannelli). Preparations began even before the Giro della Lunigiana, with a high altitude training camp in LivignoIn those weeks, hours were put into the legs and the results were different, between those who responded well and those who responded less well.
"It was all a bit of a walk in the park," says the coach. "We did a great job in this category. For many of the kids, it was their first time at the top, so the response was varied. In Lunigiana someone paid, even Finn himselfI want to see the glass half full, we went to Livigno to prepare for the World Championships and Lunigiana was another step towards the world championship.
"There's no getting away from the World Championship route," he says. "The names will be the same. Maybe it's a little too demanding for Kristoff. But the others I have in mind will all be in top condition: Seixas, Philipsen and also SumpikClearly, there would have been room for Omrzel on my list of favorites, but his crash on the first stage sidelined him. The guys we talked about are far from the average of the group, as we realized during the Lunigiana stage. Challenging, but not prohibitive, stages were enough to create a clear gap between the first two (Seixas and Finn, ed.) and all the others. On the climb there was no competition, it was a two-man race."
The team
At the Giro della Lunigiana, the difference between Lorenzo Finn and Paul Seixas was the team and the support offered. France showed up with its best athletes and this had an impact on the progress of the raceWill the team be able to make the same difference in Zurich, considering that Italy will be bringing their best players to the table?
«I don't think so – says Salvoldi – because the stretch of road that leads into the circuit is not very significant. As soon as you enter the hard part, individualities will emerge right away and very little can be done to reverse them. If the season's trend continues, it's hard to say Philipsen will miss the world championship. Finn and Seixas could be two valid alternatives to what seems like a foregone conclusion.
«In a broader context relating to the category – he continues – there are differences between the top and the rest of the boys. We will try to bring the best team knowing that we will be running on a "one on one" course. And we know we'll have our own standard-bearer. As for the others, I've seen good results from Sambinello and Bessega throughout the year. I'd like to reward some first-year players. Then there are those who have done well in recent days, like Remelli and Capello. Proietti Gagliardoni, Galbusera and Zanutta also come to mindThe numbers are those and it's always painful to say no to someone. No one ever has anything to say about the first two or three names, but about the others... the difference between the last of the called and the first of the excluded is non-existentThe coach relies on his intuition and on his thoughts about how the race will go."
Distance chapter
The World Championships in Zurich will cover 127,2 kilometers, a distance not all the athletes have tackled consistently. Energy management will be crucial.
«Those extra 30-40 kilometers – analyses Salvoldi – they can make a big differenceIn a race like the Lunigiana, which is a world-class cycling event, one might consider adding a stage of over 100 kilometers, over a world championship distance (the point about race distances is that the UCI imposes a maximum total of 400 kilometers for international stage races in the junior category, editor's note). Apart from the Classics, it is difficult to replicate such a distance in a race, it is done almost exclusively in trainingThe boys worked well on this."
