To tell this story, you have to open the hard disk of published pieces and go back to the end of 2018, when in the cold and windy retreat of Cesenatico, Gianni Savio reviewing the arriving riders, he threw the name of Mattia Viel into the mix.
"We had two interns," he said, "Lizde and Viel, who will turn pro with us. He'll be a support for Fedrigo, in the great mosaic that is a team. He doesn't have any sensational ambitions, but can carve out its own space».
Of few words
From then on life followed its own paths and It was strange, two years later, to find myself with Viel in the Rifugio Sapienza, looking outside to understand the weather and looking ahead to guess the future. We didn't know each other, but feeling it talk to Luca Chirico, who shared the Sicilian days with him, it was as if his presence in the group had a date prior to that 2018. And so on a morning with only a few kilometers to go, we asked him to tell us what's behind that beard and the few words of someone who seems to have already traveled many roads.
«I am Piedmontese – he says – and for this reason I have always had many contacts with theAndroni Giocattoli. I have been in the national track circuit for years, also doing world and European championships. As a junior I always won a lot, let's say that Everyone expected a lot from me, including myself.Then, due to a personal choice, something got in the way. Something that was good for Mattia's life and perhaps at the time a little less for Viel the rider».
Okay, you've piqued our curiosity. Which choice?
I lost my mother when I was ten years old. One thing I remember is that Before he passed away, he told me: "Please, always do well in school."Her name was Anna, and she was marketing director at Lavazza at the time. So I've always had this thing inside me, which has always influenced me in my choices. So instead of going to the classic, slightly simpler school that would leave me time to go out on my bike as a junior, I enrolled in the best linguistic high school in Turin, Altiero Spinelli, and this really took up a lot of my time. But as long as someone is young, if they have a bit of talent, they come out...
As the guy at the bar bangs the coffee filter with the vehemence of a blacksmith, we take a second to swallow and move on.
And you had talent…
I was doing well. In 2013, at 18, I went to the track world championships in Glasgow and there I met Alessandro Fissore, who asked me if I was interested. get to know the Chambery group that served as a breeding ground for GroupamaI said yes and maybe from that moment it begins the biggest regret of my career, despite being faced with an extraordinary life experience. I could have stayed with some Italian team, gone to Colpack and made my own path between road and track. Instead I went to Chambery to do those tests and I went off the radarIt was another world, they even gave us a contribution to enroll in university, I even got my French diploma. Then it was clear that they were looking for the new Bardet, because all the climbers let them pass and I who was not really a climber… At twenty I started to look around and a contact was created with Unieuro-Trevigiani.
In our archive there is also a quote from Marco Milesi, sporting director of that team: "Plus we signed Mattia Viel," he said in a February 2016 article, "another player born in 1995, who's not bad and can achieve his goals."
It was the team of Finetto, Malucelli, Malaguti, Fedeli, Carboni, Ravanelli, Plebani and also of Almeida e I was at their disposalIn 2017 I also returned to the track with the quartet, achieving some placings on the road.
Were things going well, then?
I took part in the Vuelta San Juan, also achieving a seventh place and cI honored Raimondo Scimone who became my attorneyBut at the end of 2017 a bad news came up. Unieuro would have left and Trevigiani did not have the money to keep the eliteSo I found myself stranded at 22, in Piedmont where there are no teams or sponsors. In short, I was out of touch.And just as I was thinking that at 22 years old it was time for me to let go, a former teammate, Seid Lizde, called me and said like a madman: “Matti, Matti, you have to sign with me today, we’re going up to England!” He tells me to get ready because we have to go to London, that there is a good team, the Holdsworth Pro Racing team.
And you?
I said to him: "Are you crazy? We haven't spoken in two years and you come out like this?" But I always had this fixation with languages and I said to myself: rather than go to an Italian continental, Even if I don't become anyone in the cycling world, at least I will have enjoyed some nice experiences.The project was well done. Downing was back from Team Sky, Thurau's son was there, but it was someone's toy. And when the people putting up the money got tired, the toy ceased to exist.
And once again on foot…
At that point, it was the middle of summer, I asked an Australian teammate of mine (Nicholas Yalluris, ed.) to accompany me to the Six Days of Fiorenzuola. And without specific training, we placed ourselves and even won some tests. So we went to the one in Turin, with the idea of winning it and we actually won, also beating the Italian national team couples, which for me was also a nice revenge. And just one of those nights, Gianni Savio appeared, looking for an internI had already done a few kilometers with them in 2015 and the journey resumed on August 1st. From that moment everything began and after 3 years I'm still here. Having to say a few thanks…
To who?
A Massimo Sibona, who worked for Androni as an accountant, and together with Raimondo Scimone he managed to put the right word at the right time, so as to convince the team to let me do that internship. In addition to the work of the agent, Raimondo Scimone has been fundamental over the years, encouraging me in the face of every obstacle, until I turned professional.
And how did it go?
I was amazed at my condition. I found myself at the Tour of Hainan with Masnada, Ballerini, Frapporti, Belletti… the Giro team. They made me pull for hours every day, but At that point I wanted to pass and I shotSometimes I would go on the attack and slowly I understood that that could be my role. Savio says cycling is ruthless and you have to get your act together to immediately understand where you fit in. I understood it in China.
And a beautiful door has truly reopened…
I want to move on, have a careerI don't want this to be a parenthesis. I've scaled back my goals, but I managed to stay by convincing Savio and BelliniIt's a pleasure to make yourself available to the team, but when I go on the run I always think about winningSure, I can't do what I did as a kid, but I'm still 25 and maybe things could change.
And the track?
I think I could have achieved more and I would like to get back into that circle, like Simion did. I only see logistical problems, because the Azzurri group lives almost entirely around Montichiari, and commuting to and from Turin would be a problem. Let's just say that for now, the project has been shelved, but not forgotten.
Leaving Turin?
No, because in the meantime with my girlfriend whose name is Carla Lee sponsorship and who I met in China I opened a business: Bike Kinetic She's a human movement specialist. We offer specific programs for cycling, post-injury rehabilitation, postural exercises and fitness programs, stretching, and sports massage. In the future, we'd like to organize cycling tours, coffee rides with professional advice, and cooking classes.
How long have you had it open?
In 2020, I wanted to give back to cycling in my province, hoping to become a point of reference. Furthermore, given my love for the track, I opened a location one kilometer from the Francone Velodrome in San Francesco al Campo, while in Turin I rely on other studios. Due to Covid, many services are currently online, but fortunately customer feedback is still excellent.
The magic of cycling and the people it puts on your pathWho could have imagined that behind that beard and that curious gaze on the top of this volcano now covered in snow, we would discover a story like this? Good luck Mattia, you really put a lot of energy into it.
