FLORENCE – The time for Roglic to talk about how gratified he feels in being part of the Red Bull project and how high the level of conflict will be, and Tadej Pogacar enters the City Council chamber. His usual kind smile, seemingly distracted look, and a greeting every time he encounters a familiar face. Even though he's not the defending champion, there's a certain air of predestination around the Slovenian, which he, with his usual candor, doesn't even try to deflect.
The press conference schedule is following a tight schedule, so After the winner of the Giro, Vingegaard will arrive and we will finally know or try to understand his conditionsIn the streets that lead from Piazza della Signora to Piazzale Michelangelo, the teams march one after the other, cheered on by the crowd.
Not everything is rosy
Meanwhile Pogacar speaks and it seems that the magic of the Giro it has never stopped, even if compared to the Matxin's stories, we will soon find out that life hasn't been so magical these past few weeks.
"I'm where I want to be," says the pink jersey. "The first week after the Giro was a good time. A bit of relaxation and then I started preparing for the Tour de France. It all went by so quickly and I'm super happy to be here already.We'll see right from the first stages who has the legs and is in good shape. I expect everyone to be in good shape, and I'm not the only one watching.
«I had already started training hard – now the tone suddenly changes – when I came back home because of my grandfather's deathI went to be close to my family. A long journey, I know, but it was important to me. And then, when I returned to the retreat, after a few days I got Covid, but in the end it wasn't too challenging. I think the virus isn't as serious as it was a few years ago, especially if you've had it before. I think I've had it a couple of times and Evidently my body has gotten used to living with it. I spent a whole day without the bike, the next day I trained on the rollers and then, since I was healthy again, I resumed my normal program."
Mistakes paid dearly for
The questions follow one another, the din of the square forces us to close the windows. He stands up to any argument, with the light smile of someone who is not afraid.Not even when they ask him where his determination comes from, since he seems to come from an overall easy childhood, and he replies that maybe something happened and he removed it. Maybe a goldfish died…
«I think my relationship with Vingegaard – he continues – is something extraordinary. We always meet more or less once a year, in July.I really appreciate this rivalry because I have a lot of respect for him, and it's great to see him at the start. I think he's ready, otherwise he wouldn't have come. I can't wait to get started, and we'll try to put on another great show, hoping to turn the tables this time. I'll have to be good at not making mistakes. I've made them in the last two years and I've paid for them.Physically, I think I'm ready, but then it'll all be a mental game. Three weeks is a crazy amount of time to race and stay in shape. If last year's Tour had been a classic or a week-long race, I probably would have been in the best shape of my life. Instead I found that three weeks was too long for my body.I'm fine now, but anything can happen. We'll have to pay attention to every detail.
"I think we'll have a great competition this year," he continues. "Winning the Giro was quite difficult, but here we'll find a profoundly different climate. The Tour is always one of the hottest races. But every year that passes, I approach it differently. I'm getting better and now I see that I don't like the cold anymore and this certainly didn't happen two years ago. On the other hand, they are improved a lot with the heat. I think I'm ready for this hot summer."
Unknown third week
When Vingegaard arrives, he also has Wout Van Aert and Fabio Jorgenson alongside him. This one, we think watching him walk all gangly, has won the last two Tours. The Fall of the Basques It stopped him for a long time, but for some time now, reading the statements and talking to the riders, he has come to understand the suspicion that the Dane is in much better shape than he wants us to believe.
«I'm simply happy to be here – he says – at the start of the Tour de France. I think it's already a victory, I'm very happy and looking forward to getting started. The hardest part of all this was getting back to the same level. I had to take a long break and waiting for every wound to heal before I could train properlyIt's one thing to start pedaling, but another when you can actually start training. So I hope I've put together a condition that will allow me to get to the third week."
With Pogacar zero relationships
He doesn't say much, he doesn't seem to want to open up. His opponent is as sunny as he is capable of keeping everything inside the Dane who until now has always responded to the other's sparkling outbursts with brief rebukes. They're different on the bike, too.
“It’s news to me that Tadej had Covid,” he replies. “You’re telling me now, I never knew what his health was like. We don't have a great relationship, we never spoke after my accident.But I think that since we're here, we're all in the same situation. At the start of the race, I'll just have to fight to resist and later on, I'll find the right numbers. We'll find out in the next few days.
«I've done a lot of work, a lot of good work and I'm not doing too bad, even though the press was often negative about my chances. I faced the last three months knowing it was the toughest time of my career. In certain situations you only think about reacting rather than feeling sorry for yourself and that's what I did with my family, trying everything possible to prepare for this race."
The hope of winning
Van Aert also talks about his rather difficult climb back up. from the fall. He explains that he still has some fears about throwing himself into a sprint and adds that It will certainly help in the flat and uphill stages if the condition improves.
"If I get a result," Vingegaard sighs before getting up, "I'll be very happy. If it hadn't been for the crash, I'd definitely say I'm here for the win. But obviously, things have changed in the last three months. So, of course, I still have hope that I'm strong enough. At least to fight for the win...».
He's leaving too, they're all leaving. Palazzo Vecchio is bustling with computers and journalists, while The last teams parade in Piazza della Signoria towards Piazzale MichelangeloThe 111th Tour de France is about to begin and will set sail from Florence. As he rightly said Bettiol, all departures are beautiful, but Florence is Florence…
