BORMIO – A stone's throw from the historic centre, in Piazza Kuerc,just finished the presentation of his Eolo-KometaIvan Basso was mobbed by fansA love that has never ended for those who have honored cycling to the fullest, both when he was on the pedals and now at the helm of a team. At the two-week training camp in Bormio, Eolo-Kometa showed up with around twenty ridersThe Tour de France is the main topic for Basso's professional team and Counter It's not easy to manage this period, swallowed up by the Grande Boucle.
The theme of young people
From a recent interview with Giuseppe Martinelli We're back to talking about young people with suitcases in hand. Ivan Basso has a youth team, linked to the professional team, which every year has to fight against the attraction and opportunities offered by the WorldTour teams' devolved teamsThe best young players leave abroad in search of better opportunities, but some remain here.
"I have no doubt I agree with 'Martino'," Basso says. "He has a profound knowledge of cycling. He's seen generation after generation of riders. Let's start with an example: the junior champion Gualdi next year will be at Circus-ReUz, I have to say, Intermarché team. A great team, but it's clear that from the other perspective, ours, I noticed a lack of consideration.
«The kids don't even think that there is this opportunity, the athlete only thinks about it if he has an external influence, such as that of the sports director of reference as a junior or the agent, who believe more in people than in projects. The fact that the strongest Italian juniors haven't even considered coming to race with us is a fact. It's worth taking this into account."
Is there anyone?
There is human material to work on, even in Italian professional teams. For Eolo-Kometa just think about Piganzoli e Third, two riders who grew up in the under-23 team and then moved on to the professional team.
«Tercero and Piganzoli – continues Basso – they are two examples of riders who have undertaken a path of growth with us and are continuing on. They do it in steps and that's right, in my opinion., wait for their talent to fully blossom. In the under 23 team (the Alberto Contador Foundation, ed.) we have other kids growing up. Tommaso Bessega won the final stage of the Vuelta Ciclista a Zamora.. Breeds and Bagnara They're growing and going from strength to strength. The Bessega family (born in 2004, ed.) was the last to believe in our project.
«So I feel like doing some soul searching and asking myself: “Are we capable of doing our job or not?I think so. For us, the Under 23 category is functional to bring them into the first team in due time. If you've read mine alarm of the last few months – he continues – we have to be the ones to convince the kids of the value of our project. I'm working to change this trend."
Just wait
Ivan Basso speaks and attracts our attention, his skill is making you imagine what he has in mind. Eolo-Kometa has only existed for a few years and has only been part of the professional circuit for three.What's missing among the kids, or those who represent them, is the awareness that this project exists and works. The more experience they have, the more solid they will demonstrate.
«I cannot criticize – says Basso – those who go to other realities, I have to worry about getting mine as high as possibleWe need to be self-critical, that is, try to understand where we are going wrong, or what can be done better."
The lack of an Italian WorldTour team is at the center of many interviews and criticisms leveled at our movement. Basso responds directly to this question, without hesitation, with the same determination he had when he attacked on climbs.
«I completely disagree. – he states – in Italy we have to worry that even the professional teams are disappearing, not that the WorldTour is missing. Teams like ours have to fight to surviveIn terms of budget, we are at the lowest level in Europe, we are starting to think about building a professional team that will rank among the top three in Europe in terms of investments. To go from a professional like ours to one of the best in the world I have to double the budget».
Investment
The key word in Basso's speech is precisely this: investment. We must grow one step at a time and the Varese native believes that Eolo has demonstrated that it has an important identity and will continue to grow.
“If you ask me how long it took,” he says, “I can’t know. In Italy there is a lack of support for existing professional teams, that they can go to the top of the table. By support I mean that we need to be better at convincing the sponsors to invest (yesterday's news is that he has landed alongside his team an important name like Polti(Editor's note). If I have more money, I hire better riders, I get better results, and the return on my image increases. I don't win a stage at the Giro every two years, maybe I win two a year. But above all, instead of keeping the riders still, in July, we take them runningOr instead of doing two retreats on Teide, you do four or five. Here in Bormio, you come three or four times a year. There is room for growth, you also need to have the courage to invest."
