«It hasn't been many years since I stopped – reflects Pellizotti – even if time passes. I always try to bring calm and serenityWe sports directors who have also been riders know well that Runners are between a rock and a hard placeSo, when things aren't going well and maybe the managers want results, we still try not to transmit the pressure to the kids. The worst thing when things aren't going well is to put the burden on the team».
A good year
Franco Pellizotti is back from the A trip to Tuscany in a camper van to follow his daughter on the cyclocross courses. With 2022 coming to an end, he too stopped to take stock of his season as sports director and that of the riders of the Team Bahrain Victorious.
«If last year was an excellent season – he says – this year has been good. Expectations were high, but the Tour went badly and the Vuelta was so-so.If the season finale was bad, then there was a bit of cause for concern. Instead, we ended well, so that period of lull was just a blank period that can happen."
The director who grows
Pellizotti grows together with its ridersAnd if a couple of years ago, it turned out that he was their favorite because they felt very close to him, today it is clear that experience is pushing him to climb another step.
“Every season I learn something,” he says, “and this year too I had some wonderful satisfactions. I suffered a lot in the Vuelta and this also made me grow a lot. When you go to the races and win, like for example with Mohoric at Sanremo, it seems that nothing is impossible. The problem is when you start with goals and then you have to change them.This made me grow a lot. When I got home from the Vuelta, I sat there and did a review. Where I could have gone wrong, where things went well and where badly."
Without Colbrelli
The team had to review some objectives on the fly, as happens when They encounter bad luck on their path and that small group of young riders capable of any featBut it is no mystery that the Northern Spring was one of the most awaited moments and instead Colbrelli's unavailability forced everyone to review their ambitions.
«It's true, we didn't win in the cobblestone campaign – continues Pellizotti – but we achieved good results. Sonny's absence has weighed heavily on the team.Replacing him is difficult, because Sonny came to us when he was still nobody and had yet to explode. Then he grew up and Unfortunately he passed away just when he was supposed to collect the best results. Taking on an already established rider would mean betting on someone who earns a million and a half euros and who can achieve the results we achieved with Colbrelli. It's not possible, therefore. We are trying to work with young people, trying to grow them and bring them to the highest level like with Sonny».
Milan Talent
And maybe the man is there and his name is Jonathan Milan, which suggests sensational potential and it's for everyone who revolves around the team a blank sheet of paper yet to be written.
«In my opinion – admits Pellizotti smiling – Milan is a phenomenonThis year too he had to sit out a lot due to physical problems, but as soon as he returned, he immediately went strong. Physically he is a prodigy and he has a lot of mental development to do, because he is still a kid.. Maybe unlike others his age, he has truly incredible margins. We need to find out what his limit is, because he can win sprints like Petacchi and be a Belgian rider.Many compare him to Ganna, but he does some really impressive times for his age and he knows how to ride a bike, because in sprints he is not afraid and knows how to file very well».
Teuns Mystery
And yet Victory in Belgium came with Dylan Teuns, who he imposed himself on the Mur d'Huy and then, perhaps even mysteriously, he left in the heart of the summer, reaching Israel, which perhaps he hoped with a transfer coup to straighten out the standings and save themselves from relegation.
«Teuns did the Tour – Pellizotti tries to explain, but it's clear that the operation went over their heads – and after that he shouldn't have done any more major races. He's a rider who cost us a lot, I think he was the second highest paid in the teamHe achieved great results, he won the Flèche Wallonne and certainly Israel must have made him an offer that we couldn't match.. And so there was this opportunity for him and for us too. The fact that he left in August, he also made five months of his salary go free, to invest in the next few years. I don't know if they thought he would bring his points or that he would score a lot after the change of team, but If that were the case, they miscalculated…».
Landa's Regret
The regret, If there is to be regret, it is double and is linked to Landa and Fred Wright. To the Spaniard for the Giro and for the Vuelta, which ended in fact with the first uphill finish. As for the British, if he had managed to win the seventh stage of the Vuelta after the breakaway with Herrada, he would have saved the team's budget in Spain and obtained the blessed victory that he still lacks.
«We left for the Vuelta convinced that we could do well in the rankings – recalls Pellizotti – Instead, on the first uphill finish we took them and had to reinvent the race. Mikel has also shown that he can go very strong at the end of the seasonIt has the same values as five years ago, but it is also true that In the meantime, some very strong young people have grown up, while modern cycling is moving forward at a crazy speed. It's clear, in hindsight, that there is some regret. especially for the Giro, in not having tried since the first week. We waited, while he was already very well and Hindley at least at the beginning seemed to be suffering., then it went on to grow. We still believe in Landa, but it's clear that Winning a major stage race is very difficult, because in a head-to-head race against certain riders, under normal circumstances it is difficult to win.».
«Wright in my opinion is another great guy – continues Pellizotti – his only problem is that he hasn't managed to win yet. At the Vuelta he was so eager to raise his arms that he made some mistakes.On the day of Roglic's crash he wouldn't have won, because Pedersen was in an incredible state of grace and he already did a great job staying in that group. Let's say instead that the victory he missed was the one in which the breakaway of five arrived and Herrada of Cofidis wonIf Wright had won the stage, his Vuelta would have changed. In any case, he's a guy we'll be hearing a lot about."
Buratti Project
Franco Pellizotti's holidays now include further trips around Italy, with the camper he bought, between the dates of the cross-country race. He admits that he discovered the off-road world only recently and that he was impressed by it.. The last note is on the young man Tumblers, who deserves to become a professional, for which the transition is instead being planned for 2024, after another year to spend at the Cycling Team Friuli.
"I know that It's not easy to wait when you're convinced you deserved to pass – he says – I imagine that doing another season after the one he did is not even easy. We will try to find him new motivations so that he can grow further this year. and ensure that when he arrives among us, he is already ready to race among the professionals."
