After a pro past that saw him win a stage at the Tour of China in 2016, for several years Mattia De Marchi has decided to dedicate yourself full time to gravelA choice that led him to win the last edition of the very famous Spanish race The Traka, and which this year made him fly to Kansas to participate in the most important gravel event in the world, theUnbound 200.
At the end of a very close race against some sacred monsters of the discipline (in the opening, photo Roszko), Mattia has arrived 5th, five seconds from the podiumThe best of the Italians (in our group there was an exceptional debutant: Daniel Oss). He told us how it went.
Mattia, let's start from the beginning. How did your approach to Unbound 2024 go?
Compared to the past three editions years we decided to arrive much later, without travelling too early, Because let's say America is not an easy place to train. Last year we spent three weeks there before the race and I finally got to the start and I was already finishedBecause when you're there, you can't train at your usual pace, following the diet you're used to, in your familiar environment. So This time we arrived four days early, which was fine even considering the time zone, since the race starts very early in the morning.
Was this helpful?
This mental freshness was incredibly helpful. I was coming off a stressful moment after breaking my gearshift at the end of The Traka and not bringing home anything. An event like the Unbound is unpredictable, you play it all in one day.A thousand things can happen. Moreover, this year there were at least 30 riders who could have won. The important thing is to manage yourself mentally.In fact, in the first half of the race I was more afraid of getting a puncture than of breaking away from the main group.
But this means that you were physically very well.
I have to say yes. They told me the route would be tougher than last year's, but I didn't find it that difficult. The total elevation gain was higher, but the climbs are still very short so you can't really make much of a difference.Then this year there was also a bit of control and after 150 km we were still 50 in front, compared to the 15-20 of previous editions, this also due to the higher level in general. In fact, it turned out to be a very tactical race, in which all the favourites kept each other under control.
All except a couple…
Lachlan Morton in fact he ran without thinking about others, in his own way, following his idea, and Chad Haga did the same. For once, however, I – in agreement with the trainers – decided to take a risk and stay as close to the wheel as possible.. Then maybe even if I had followed them, the others wouldn't have left me any space, because I'm now quite well known in America too. So I decided to take a risk, trying to play my trump card as far ahead as possible, also because on a very fast course where a lot of strength is needed, I, with my 60 kg, started at a disadvantage.o. When I actually played myself, 80 km from the finish, I realized that I was still fine.
Tell us a little more about this wild card.
With 80 km to go there was the last feed zones, which have now become like Formula OneOnce upon a time, you could relax and even breathe a little. Now, if you stop for more than 20 seconds, you risk being left behind and throwing the race away. I had gained some experience in previous years, and as soon as I realized that... A small group of strong riders set off before me, I seized the moment and immediately tried to get back on my own. Because I knew it was a great opportunity to join a quality breakaway, where it's also easier to get along than in a group with many riders. I rejoined without much effort, and we continued like that, six or seven of us, for a while. Then we started looking at each other, and the guys behind caught up with us. That's when I told myself I'd have to come up with something.
And what did you do?
I attacked once, but no one followed me, so I stopped. Then I took advantage of a moment of indecision and I took advantage of Stetina, together with two other guysWe were only about ten seconds ahead of the others for quite a few kilometers, but that's when you have to hold on, because it doesn't take much to make the difference. In fact, as time went on, we built up a nice lead. Suddenly Stetina left and so we lost someone who was giving us a big hand.At that point we did everything we could to close the gap we had on Morton and Haga, about 1'30''. But in those moments The further you go in the race, the more difficult it is to come back, especially when you find yourself in front of people like these two, two regulars who can go on forever. I didn't have much choice now and I had to try to get to the finish line as quickly as possible, but at -30 km 5-6 riders came back on us including Van Avermaet, and the race is reciprocated againWe realized that the first two were gone and so all possible agreements fell through.
And here you decided to play the second wild card of the day?
Exactly, I had to I had to come up with something to at least bring home a good result and with 10km to go I attacked againThree of us set off, and to be honest, I was quite tired at that point. The other two were very strong on the flat, and I managed to get right to the end, where I finished 5th. It's my best result at Unbound, after 13th in 2022 and the difficulties due to the terrain last year. So I have to say that for me, Even though I didn't win or get on the podium, it was still a really good day.
