Vincenzo Nibali is leading. Trying to follow the dots of his routes, it is perfectly clear that the Sicilian is truly all-encompassing.The last times have been particularly turbulent, between the Tour of Italy which begins, the 100 days until the start of the Tour, various inaugurations and probably the premiere of the documentary film on his beginnings, shot in Messina among his childhood friends.
At the Giro with Vegni
This year's Giro d'Italia will be decided either He will probably hang the end sign on the climb that was the beginning for him: Mount GrappaHe was the first to reach the top and launched himself like a fury on the descent towards Asolo. It was 2010, the Giro still had to tackle the Zoncolan and the Mortirolo, but for Vincenzo it arrived the first stage victory. And so it is that after a few steps into the present, It's simple and wonderful to slip into the past, remembering that 25-year-old boy, who appeared at the door of the adults and matched their gaze and pace.
«Let's see what he's up to Pogacar at the Giro – he says – the first few days aren't exactly easy. You have to be ready and then have a condition to carry forward until the end.I'll be following you in installments. I've renewed my collaboration with RCS, so on some occasions I'll be alongside Vegni and others. Mauro's role as director It is very important and perhaps in some ways underestimated by those outsideI had the opportunity to follow a few stages with him, and you realize how much work goes into it. His and the entire group working on safety. The first time I saw it, I admitted that I didn't expect so much effort to be put into it..
"The athlete thinks about running and winning; he has no idea about anything else. I suggested holding a meeting just with the riders, to explain how the relay teams operate. It could be done when they come for the team presentations. It might take an extra hour, but in terms of safety, you'd give them very valuable information. I went by car with Longo Borghini to see the first pieces of the road, to fix seemingly trivial details: the stripes, the barriers, the signs. To mark things that perhaps weren't noted during the initial reconnaissance and that are better seen when the road is closed and without cars. Or the most dangerous finishing lines.
Speaking of high-tension finales, we return to Monte Grappa and the nosedive into Bassano del Grappa. You arrived further ahead, in Asolo, but the slope is the same…
My first Giro d'Italia victory. It was a stage I'd been aiming for. The day before, even at the table, I'd declared it. Laughing and joking, I said to Ivan: "Tomorrow, when we get to the top, move aside on the way down because I'm attacking!" He took it a bit badly, he wasn't being funny about it, but I have to be honest, jokes aside: he really helped me win that stage. I was a young man who wanted to dot the i's right away, but I learned a lot from him..
It was the famous Giro della fuga dell'Aquila, for which you had to pull every single day…
I had been strong in that Giro d'Italia. I had essentially ridden the same approach route as Ivan Basso, with the exception of the Romandie. I shouldn't have done the Giro, it was Pellizotti's turnAfter Liège I went to Sicily and I was, so to speak, stunned because I hadn't done very well in Belgium. I suffered from allergies and I remember having trouble breathing.I felt strange, a little weak. I remember one day I got the call, I'd been down for less than a week. Zanatta called me and told me they were thinking about taking me to the Giro d'Italia. He'd spoken to Slongo (the trainer who followed him for almost his entire career, ed.) and having done the same program as Basso, they were sure that I had what it took.
And you?
I was honestly a little skeptical. The 2010 Giro started in Holland, and it rained the whole time up there, and that changed my life. I started to feel like a different person. With the rain all the poles had gone down and day after day I started to feel betterIn fact, I immediately went well, strong from the first stages. It's the same Giro where I took the pink jersey in the team time trial in Cuneo, under a heavy downpour, and lost it. in the mud of Montalcino. When we arrived at Monte Grappa, Arroyo was wearing the pink jersey and he had taken it in L'AquilaWe still had seven minutes to make up for him.
Were you familiar with Grappa? Had you ever ridden it?
No, it was the first time. I had made a few pieces of it in previous years when I was in those areas training., but I had never reached the top and obviously in the race it was a completely different thing.
What do you remember about that day?
The Team Sky guys, who were in their first year, took it hard: I remember Wiggins was there too. Immediately after, however, they slowed down a bit and so From the middle onwards we took the reins of the raceWe began pulling with the usual climbing protocol. So, first came Kieserlowski, then Agnoli, and then Sylvester Szmyd, who was last. When he finished, I saw that there were only a few of us left.Until in the last little bit, when we were right at the top, we noticed that Cadel Evans (one of Basso's most dangerous opponents, ed.) had come over the top slightly behind us. So once at the top, I went down the hill with Basso, took the descent and went away.
Was that the plan you talked about at dinner the night before?
Exactly, although Halfway down the descent I got a bit of crampsThere was a little bit where you had to pedal again (from Ponte San Lorenzo to Il Pianaro, ed.) and your legs would pound. But it was the way I gradually got them going again and got them to turn slowly, and the cramps went away. I did the last part of the descent and then the last 7-8 kilometers to get to the finish lineI arrived with a 23-second lead, I think.
If you think about it now, with all the career you've had since, does that day still have any significance?
It was important, because I went to the Giro thinking of trying to win some stages, I didn't have the goal of finishing in the general classification. Ivan Basso was there for that, I had already done a few Giros and that year I should have done the Tour de France, but I swapped it for the Giro d'ItaliaMy whole season was turned upside down. I finished third in the Giro and then went to the Vuelta, which I won: my first major Giro. So the day in Asolo was an important step, the first victory, the turning point of his career.That year I had set my sights on raising the bar even higher…
How do you see a climb like the Grappa in today's group?
Is always a climb that demands respect and if done quickly, it hurts a lotThe first part of the descent is also quite challenging. When I did it, it was even wet. It's narrow, and the asphalt at the top was slippery. It's a stage that If someone decides to do it hard from bottom to top, they will cause damage. Obviously with the help of the team, not alone…
What do you remember about the last few meters: when you get there, do you hear the speaker shouting your name? Do you get goosebumps?
You hear the roar of the people, that's for sure. Goosebumps, the real ones, come to you when you pedal on top of the mountain passes in the middle of those two wings of people., hoping that everything goes well. There are people cheering you on and shouting at you, that for me has always been the height of adrenaline. That day there weren't many people up there, maybe because it was raining, but when we arrived in Asolo there was a sea of fans: I really remember this, in Asolo there are always peopleThe next day I tried to enter the village, but I couldn't because I was… crushed by the fans (laughs, ed.). I've always had a good relationship with that city.
Why?
Why I also won an Italian junior championship therePeople also remembered that little boy in the tricolor jersey. I had a great time in Veneto, when I went racing with Fassa Bortolo and then with Liquigas.
See you at the Giro, then?
Sure. I'll do the first three stages, then I'm going to Genoa because they're naming a cycle path after Michele ScarponiThen I'll come back later, maybe for some nearby stage and then for the grand finale. I won't be in Livigno, but I think I'll go up the next day for a rest. In the meantime my documentary film is also coming out and I don't know if they want to do a premiere on that day..
Is it true that you filmed it all in Sicily?
All down, exactly. It was shot by Marco Spagnoli, who also made documentaries on Franco Battiato, Pino Daniele, Sofia Loren and Dino Zoff.Mine will focus on my origins, the places where I started. There are some family stories; we went to see the town where my parents grew up. There are some of my friends, some stories from my cousin Cosimo, and those who were able to come. Carlo Franceschi couldn't due to the distance, but Malucchi brought out memories concerning his fatherI don't know where it will be broadcast yet, but it's produced partly by the Sicilian Region and partly by RAI. We'll see when the premiere will be. In the meantime, see you in Turin...
