Liquigas before, Cannondale then… but always from the great team of Robert Amadio Let's talk. The green battleship was the last all-star team flying the Italian flag. A battleship that lasted ten seasons, which saw a long list of champions, including Low, Nibali e History.
Garzelli was the first to sign
«But the first was Garzelli – remembers Amadio – Liquigas was somehow born in Genoa, at the start of the 2004 Giro. There, I met Paul Dal Lago, CEO of Liquigas, who asked me about the WorldTour. I told him what I thought. We agreed that we would meet again if necessary. In August we met again at Dr. Paolo Zani, owner of Liquigas, and the adventure began. Garzelli was the first captain. We aimed for Line of Business, but Stefano, being the intelligent person he was, understood that he could no longer aim for the grand Tours and so he concentrated on one-day races. And in fact he subsequently won the Tre Valli Varesine and other milestones. Stefano signed in early September of that same season. But soon after, many other champions arrived: Di Luca, Paolini, Pozzato... We got off to a good start. My philosophy, and that of the management, was to invest in young people. And the first investment was signing Nibali. But also others: cruciger, Oss, Viviani, Guarnieri who struggled a lot at the beginning but who today is one of the best trailblazers."
Basso's challenge
But what certainly made Liquigas a “dream team” was the Basso-Nibali pairing.
«I wanted Ivan – says Amadio – and it was a brave choice to take him after his suspension. At that time, certain choices were frowned upon in the cycling world. But with Aldo Sassi and Mapei Center to whom Ivan turned we managed to demonstrate who Basso was."
The rider from Varese won the 2010 Giro, one of the most beautiful and which in some way also inspired a certain dualism between “bassists” and “nibalians”. The moment of tension came in the Montalcino stage of the 2010 Giro.
«That day was terrible, with rain, cold, falls, various accidents... But we we had left with Basso as captain and we remained faithful to that line, Even though we could have let Nibali go, Vincenzo was smart. We were a good group. He could have done more, but the team prevailed. What if he could have won the Giro? Vincenzo was certainly penalized on that stage, but I don't think so. In the end Ivan went really fast."
Amadio also remembers the Aprica stage, the one with the Mortirolo, the most beautiful in his opinion. A very important team effort, also supported by boots (Androni), who perhaps expected to win the stage, as then happened.
I fondly remember the mentality of that stage, which mirrored the Liquigas mentality: to compete and win. We had demonstrated our strength 100%. And it wasn't easy. Because after the descent of the Mortirolo, where Basso had had some problems, Arroyo in the pink jersey was returning. The classic route was not taken, but the route descended into the old part of Edolo before going back up towards Aprica, and there was a tough climb there that put Arroyo in difficulty and effectively decided the Giro."
King Nibali
Amadio spoke about the youth. It is in this group that his staff has matured and grown, starting from Long e Pellets, which created the feeling with the doctor Magni.
A thoroughbred? Nibali was known to be a top rider even in the youth categories. He'd spent a season with Fassa Bortolo. He signed at the Liquigas headquarters in Milan. He came with Alex and Johnny Carera. We prepared a three-year contract for him, not a two-year one like the others. He was shy… but you could see that he was determined, that he wanted to learn and that he wanted to win in every race.".
«But my memory of Nibali is the victory of the 2010 Vuelta and how it happened. On that terrible climb on the last stage, the World Bubble. It was the culmination of a long journey. An immense personal satisfaction. It was truly a great thing, I saw his determination and that of the group. Something so strong, but contrary, therefore disappointing, I felt when he finished second in Liège. Not for his performance, of course, but for how it went. He deserved it.
The Sagan Era
And then Peter Sagan arrived. It was the fall of 2009…
«Peter – Amadio says – Zanardo from Treviso's cross country club had recommended him to me. He told me he was a versatile guy, capable of ranging from cross country to mountain biking. From there we started following him. During the World Championships I told him Stephen Zanatta to go there and contact him, I was in America at the time. We reached an agreement right away.
He was just a kid. He was 19 when I hired him, but he immediately showed what he was made of. In Australia, in his first race among the big boys, he placed very well, and he was in the breakaway with Armstrong and the best. Then one day he crashed. He had a bad wound on his arm. They took him to the hospital, and while they were stitching him up, he said to Dr. Magni: I'm leaving tomorrow. And so it went. He already had balls at 19!
«Peter was immediately liked – continues Amadio – The boys talked to me about him and told me about his physical and group qualities. At the first Paris-Nice I wanted to follow him in the prologue. It was tough, with a final 400-meter ramp well over 10 percent. He starts and immediately gets into position to push the leader. "Damn," I think to myself, "this guy's going strong." Always composed, sitting down. Then he starts the climb and stays seated. He doesn't get up. He crosses the finish line and is still sitting. In the end, he sets the provisional best time and fifth at the end of the stage. I go talk to him and ask him why he didn't get up. He replied: They told me that during the time trial I had to hold my position and that's what I did, I didn't know I could get up. This was Peter!
The strength of the group
Liquigas, which in recent seasons had become Cannondale, left a positive image of itself. A well-organized team, never out of line. The fans certainly liked it.
«We were at the Tour. On the bus I said: we are Cannondale and we can't not win. Today we're going to eliminate all the sprinters. We'll attack from afar, and you'll see that we'll get the result. The boys did just that. They skipped over Cavendish, Greipel... and all the others, and Peter won. He was the strength of our group.
«The last purchases were Mohoric, Formolo, Bettiol e Moser. Moserino is an infinite talent, it's a shame he wasn't able to express himself. He made a life choice, and that's okay... Bettiol, the poor man pointed it out to me Mauro Battaglini. He told me: take him because he's a phenomenon. And in fact he arrived very young. When he won the Flanders Championship I wasn't surprised. Formolo I expected something more on the Grand Tours front. He needs to understand what he wants to do because he's also strong in one-day races. And Mohoric He's a boy with an exaggerated intelligence. He's been a bit lacking in the last two seasons, but he's still a good rider...
«Yes, many champions have passed through our doors. Cipollini, De Marchi, Caruso…But also good riders, Carlstrom, Bodnar…I had about a hundred riders with whom we achieved over 200 victories. It was a great satisfaction!
