Simone Tortato He ran until he was an amateur, then an injury stopped him just shy of turning professional. His passion, however, never faded, and after continuing to run as an amateur, four years ago he created in his country, Marcon in the province of Venice, a team of very young people, children aged 7 to 12.
An experience of grassroots cycling for fun and education, rather than competition at all costs. An experience that is grown from season to season giving Tortato a lot of satisfaction, both sporting and human. We contacted him to ask him about this story.
Simone, how did you start?
We were born as a normal amateur society, l'ASD Velodrome Marcon, next year will be our tenth season. At the end of 2022 A friend of mine told me that his son in the youth category would have liked to start with cycling, and if we could think of something, that was the “LA” to startThe first year with four children, then more and more. Having many fans we counted on solidarity, without sponsorsWe still don't have the flagship and we have to do our best with the parents.
An experiment that took off immediately... where do you train?
After the first year with four children, last year we reached about ten, and this year at fifteenThe first two seasons we went to train in a bike park a bit far away, about 30 kilometers from Marcon, our hometown. This year, fortunately, the municipality gave us priority use of a park It was underused and was becoming a degraded area. And so we revitalized it.
So more mountain than road, right?
Exactly, we're leaning more towards mountain biking for this very reason, because we can't train in public parking lots, much less on the street. We immediately focused more on play and education than on the competition.
That?
We have seen that for families It's much easier to get your kids to come to training twice a week than to races., even on a logistical level. Because to come to the park they can leave directly from home by bike, but for the races you might have to organize a whole day. So we decided that for us the competition would have become secondary. This created a more playful and attractive environment, even because There is already a lot of competitive spirit in the races even among the very young. We, on the other hand, try to only go to events where everyone gets rewarded.
And does this work?
Absolutely yes. For example between no we no longer use the word “last”The last one is the one who doesn't come, who doesn't participate, not the one who arrives after the others. If there are seven of us, we go from first to seventh, so that no one feels "last," but part of a group. Also because then in any case whoever has the numbers then emerges anyway. Another example. My friend's son I was talking about He was predisposed to run and he still won. So much so that when he moved to another team as a rookie, he won the Italian championshipThe skill of a coach is to adapt to whoever is in front of him, he must accommodate the different characteristics of the children, especially at that ageWhen you have many children in front of you, all different, you have to work with these two variants, educational and performance. In this way it is possible create a welcoming environment both for the little champion and for those who come just for the company, and everyone comes willingly.
However, it is often said that in this way the most deserving are disadvantaged...
That's not true. I've been coaching for four years now, and I have a child who's been with us since the beginning and has always come in last. But He keeps coming because he enjoys it, and it makes me proud, even more than the Italian champion. Also because if you lose him, what will he do? Maybe something less educational for him. At that age children need to feel in their place, which does not mean clipping the wings of the strongest, on the contrary. And I say this as a competitor, from someone who has raced in all categories up to amateurs and who enjoys competition.
How does youth training take place?
We have this park where we built a circuit, which is a simple and functional modalityThis way, the best performing kids can keep going, and those who struggle can stop every now and then and start again when they feel like it. Something that wouldn't be possible on the street. Now that we're in town, we're talking to the locals, because we've noticed that one of the biggest problems, especially for mothers, is to load the bike into the car. Instead, being able to leave from home and come directly by bike with the child makes all the difference in the world. Every now and then I take them to the track in Portogruaro, home to one of Italy's best velodromes. There, they learn other road bike riding techniques.
Do you provide the bikes?
Over time, I've slowly recovered about ten of them, so they're part of the team and we provide them. Otherwise almost no one would buy it, also because after 2 years they have to change it, so it's fundamental. The biggest problem is where to find spare parts, and perhaps the Federation should consider this issue. Because Everyone has a mountain bike, but not a road bike.We need to find some solutions to bring more and more children closer without it becoming prohibitively expensive for families. Because talent comes from large numbers; it's easier to find it among 1000 than among 100 or 10. What I see instead is that there are fewer and fewer teams, fewer competitions.
What do you think the Federation should do in this regard?
Try to simplify as much as possible, perhaps by easing some restrictions. Now, to start a team, you need bikes with all the trimmings, otherwise it's a problem. As a team, we... we organized this summer the children's game, an event open to non-member children, supported by the village festival. We had 91 participants, a huge success., to the point that many then called me to know how we did it. The secret is to give accessibility as much as possible from below, from schools, at festivals, make it a more open sport. Where even if someone comes by bike from home it's still fine. Instead a real race, with the flagships and the beautiful bikes, maybe it's off-putting for someWe need to start over with grassroots cycling. It's no coincidence that we've gone from 4 to 15 members by making it accessible.
Do you have any news in store for 2026?
We will do what we have done so far, but try to improve even further. We already have new children who want to try and parents who are making themselves available, which is an important added value for us. In fact, I'm very happy with the people around us, because there's a great sensitivity in this regard, they embrace our philosophy. Then when the very young ones start to be 11-12 years old we start to gradually get into competitive sport For those who want it. But when they're little, in my opinion, it's pointless; in fact, it can be counterproductive.
Simone, last question. What's your greatest satisfaction over the years?
Last year I had three rookies selected from Veneto for the Italian championships who had run with me. So it means that we are doing well on a technical level tooBut I always try to focus on the individual, on his needs, which are unique and particular. It is no coincidence that I have had two great satisfactions in these years. Having won the Italian championships and still having with me that child who always came lastA beautiful summary of my way of training young people.
