It is rare to see popular jubilation at a cycling finish as it happened on Sunday, at GP Marble IndustriesInternational classic for Under 23s which saw a final arrival of 5 riders competing for victory and seeing Tommaso cross the finish line first Data, the audience exploded. In fact, it had been 26 years since a Tuscan had won the Marina di Carrara event, a highly anticipated race in a region that has made cycling almost a religion.
Dati, in recounting what happened, mocks himself a little: «There were many who had come to see me, relatives and friends, they made a bit of a claque… Jokes aside, the race was near me, it was one of my seasonal goals to do well in my race and the final result even exceeded expectations."
How did your victory come about?
I knew, having raced it two years ago, that there was a good chance that a breakaway in the first part would succeed, so I had to get in on it. 18 of us broke away and there was good collaboration because the major teams were in it. In a subsequent attack, there were 7 of us remaining, collaborating until the final climb where there was the attack of Turconi. On the descent I came back knowing the road well and we found ourselves playing for the victory in 5I knew that Oils He was the fastest, and I grabbed his wheel, jumping him 50 meters from the finish line. That's when the party broke out...
How did Cyclist Data come about?
Very soon, almost like a game. There was my cousin who ran as G1 and I followed him to stay with him and continue playing.I saw that I was having fun and doing well, so I continued, but he then dedicated himself to football and stopped that too.
You are the classic long-distance rider…
Yes, I'm also good on medium-short climbs, but I'm not at the level of the best climbers when it comes to very long or steep climbs. I'm perhaps missing something in the sprint, but in the smaller groups I can have my say, as happened on Sunday.
You're also very good at time trials; you're the reigning regional champion. An uncommon quality...
I like time trials, even though I've done very few of them. I won the title in a race that was a hillclimb time trial, which reflected my characteristics to a certain extent. I haven't done any specific training so far, but just in these days I received the time trial bike to prepare for the Giro Next Gen, so now I will alternate classic workouts with specific ones against the clock.
Your penchant for time trials makes you a rider who could also aim for the stage race classification.
Last year at the Giro I suffered too much on the Stelvio stage, but in the other stages I was often able to keep up with the strongest riders. I honestly don't see myself as a ranking man, I prefer to look at individual stages that suit my characteristics., but I know that in multi-day races I improve towards the end. We'll see how the race unfolds, but basically I'd prefer to aim for a partial victory.
The team, for its part, seems to be enjoying a very positive moment, especially considering Davide Donati's victory at the Liberazione. What's the reason for this?
La Biesse Carrera It is certainly one of the strongest teams in this national panorama, in every race we participate in there are 3-4 riders who can easily aim for victory. In my opinion, the pre-season training camp we did between January and February in Spain was very important, Because not only did we work well from a technical standpoint, but we also put together a great group. In racing, everyone thinks of the team first; we work for it, and depending on the race, we decide who to focus on. Then again, some placings could have even translated into victories; in some ways, the overall result is even lower than expected.
You're a senior, do you have any contacts?
Not yet, but I hope this victory will be a harbinger of further successes and that someone will ultimately be impressed. That's why I really hope the Carrara success is only the first.
Is there a rider who inspires you?
Many may be surprised, but he's not a contemporary, one of the great champions of the period we're living in. I've always liked Tom. Boonen, maybe because he won in the classics and those are my favorite races.The Belgian was very fast on the cobblestones but above all he had a style that left a deep impression on me. I would really like to see myself in him…
