There is a story hidden in the depths of a race like the Tour of Abruzzo, one of the many that served as an introduction to the current Giro d'Italia. An illustrative story of contemporary cycling, the more underground one compared to the lights and glitz of the WorldTour., the kind made by riders who seek space not so much for glory, but to make their activity a job, and this detail should never be forgotten. This story is about Andrea War.
A man on the run
His name often hit the headlines in those days because the rider of the Ointment He never missed an opportunity to break away, to try to stand out. As often happens, the race then took a different turn, he slipped back in the standings, but he did his part and finishing the race in fifth place in the GPM standings has a significance.
"We set out with the goal of making ourselves seen," says the twenty-two-year-old from Valli del Pasubio. "I tried to make the most of the first two stages. In the first one I was in the breakaway for 137 kilometers, the next day for 113 and these are efforts that you can feel in your legs, even if paradoxically in the other two stages I arrived further ahead".
You found yourself with Diego on both occasions Bracalente...
He's a better climber than me, but we had a good feeling in the race. To tell the truth, the first day was more casual, the escape had already been bornI managed to use an overpass to search for the fugitives and hook up. There were seven of us, and we were working together well. When we reached the plain, there were four of us, but there wasn't much cooperation anymore; some were waiting for the group to return. In the second we tried again, with more conviction.
Do you consider yourself a climber?
Not really, more of a climber-passenger. On long climbs I pay the price in the end, I hold better on routes where I have to go up and downThose routes that reflect my homeland, where there's a breather between climbs. For example, one of my favorite races is the Giro del Valdarno precisely because of these characteristics. I have no problem managing even long distances. It's no coincidence that it was there that I achieved what I consider my greatest victory.
It's no coincidence that you broke away during the confrontation with the professionals...
I had also done it a couple of years ago at the Giro di ToscanaI would have tried to do the same in Pozzato's races at the end of last season, but I was knocked out by a stomach virus and so I missed a great opportunity.
How did you get into cycling?
Sometimes I think back and ask myself that too. I remember when I was little, my dad used to tell me about sprinting; he ran at the provincial level. I used to go and watch him, and what struck me was how hard they worked... I liked football more, but as time went by I grew up and felt more and more imprisoned in my role, in the schemes, I was looking for freedom, I wanted to experiment. One day I saw a race on TV and decided to give it a try.My parents weren't exactly happy, and I was quite strong and didn't run very well, but I had a passion for it, and that made me grow and improve. I did my first races as a G6.
And now what do you expect?
I've learned not to expect anything, it's the only way to avoid disappointment.I'm in my third year with Zalf, I'm really enjoying it, it's a great environment, but it's a strange world, where when you lose that under-23 qualification (Guerra is in his first year of elite play, ed.) you feel a bit marginalized. It's best not to get your hopes up too high, otherwise you'll expect things you don't have right now. For goodness sake, I too would like to become a professional and every race is an opportunity to show off, to climb a step, maybe find that interested look of someone who can do something to help me become one.
But you must have dreams related to cycling…
Dreams are always there, If it were up to me, I would like to run increasingly important races until I get to the truly prestigious ones, the classics.But we're talking about dreams, reality is something else entirely...
