The end of the journey is marked by a tick tock. With their Nordic walking poles, The tired and smiling pilgrims queue up in front of the Oficina de Acogida to put the "sello", the seal on their travel register.. A little further on, in front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, another ticking, that of the stopwatch, marks the Fabio Aru's last rides in his careerThe Knight of the Four Moors has chosen Spain, where he was crowned king in 2015, to step down from the saddle. He wanted to keep in his ears and hearts the applause of an audience that knew him at his peak., who has not forgotten it.
The perfect scene
The scene is simply perfect, maybe not even he could have imagined itHe crosses the finish line while the unmistakable voice of speaker Juan Mari Guajardo cheers him on. He climbs the ramp leading to the podium with his happiest smile, the one of the best days and he lets himself be overwhelmed by the applause, by the hugsThere are his companions, the staff of the Qhubeka-NextHash with which he was reborn, There are mother Antonella and father Alessandro, there is Valentina (who left little Ginevra to her grandparents). And there's the manager Alberto Ziliani who prepared for everyone T-shirts with the writing “The Knight of the Four Moors” which portray Fabio with the four most important shirts: tricolor, yellow, pink and red. Fabio is confused, very excited, thanks and smiles. Suddenly he is 100 percent again the champion he wanted to be, not always succeeding, not always through his own fault.
Locatelli writes
Fabio hugs his parents, as he did when he greeted them on his rare visits to the "continent", at the time of Palazzago and the rigorous management of Olivano Locatelli. «He was the only one who brought it all out the best of me in terms of character, grit, the desire to never give upEven in this Vuelta, he who never writes to anyone, sent me a message telling me not to give up. And that's what I learned from him."
In that embrace there is gratitude towards those who allowed him to take flight.Fabio found the resources at home to pursue his dream, with "stubbornness." Then he gives a long hug to Valentina, the woman of his life: "She is without a doubt above all others. It's part of my journey and of myself».
Of the past and the future, as have been many characters who are ideally at the foot of that stage, along that "path" that for Fabio It may not have been a pilgrimage, but it certainly had many moments of suffering.Exciting in the early stages, from cyclocross to his under-23 successes (above all, a double in Val d'Aosta). From his podium debut in Colorado in 2012 to his triumph in the 2013 Giro as Vincenzo Nibali's domestique. Then came the two golden years, 2014 and 2015, with top finishes in the Giro and Vuelta, 2016 at the Olympics, and 2017 with the Italian national team and the yellow jersey.
Key figures
There were two key figures in Astana during that period. The first is Paolo Tiralongo"Tira and I had many great moments, and I enjoy those as a rider more than the last few years, like his victory at the Giro. Those were the best moments."
The other is Beppe Martinelli: "I owe Martino my tactics and my experience on the routes." A frank, intense relationship: "For my part, the relationship with certain people is always deep.».
Even during the dark period of UAE Emirates, with the iliac artery operation and the difficult recovery, there were prominent figures. Matxin or Saronni?Matxin all my life! I love him and always will, a person who gave and left me so much. Saronni doesn't exist for me.».
The casting choices
Here, From then on, Fabio Aru's path becomes an uphill journey, sometimes in the darkFabio, who recently revealed his faith to Famiglia Cristiana, withdraws, as he does when he fails to project the best image of himself during a race. His interlocutors are highly selectedHe avoids proclamations, works in silence, and suffers in silence from the criticism that comes like friendly fire. He has often said that he has never trained with the intensity and consistency of the years when he didn't win.The decisions I made on the spur of the moment turned out to be less good", he admits. Among these, the choice of some people who didn't work out for him. And it was in those moments that the invisible thread with Sardinia was his salvation. The comfort of true friends helped him digest the about-face of the fake fans. "I've always been in the eye of the storm, I'm often talked about, and it makes the news if I don't get results. Now maybe it'll be talked about a little less..." he says, betraying his bitterness.
The bar is always high
On the Vuelta podium (with the Sardinian flag that led Riccardo Magrini to nickname him "The Knight of the Four Moors") or dangling on his bike at the back of the peloton during the darkest days, Fabio has always remained himself. And that's how it is, whether you like it or not. His stubborn, determined character made him reach places where his legs would not have taken him.His determination pushed him beyond a bar he always tried to raise to the highest level. He always wanted to compete at the highest levelOnly this year, when he joined a team unlike any other, Qhubeka-NextHash, after consciously withdrawing from the Tour de France, did he accept a downsizing. In Romania, he made a choice in line with his return to the simplicity of the mud, to cyclocross. And there he rediscovered its size. That of an attacking rider, chasing victory.
Sardinian heart
At that point he understood that he was at the right point on the path. He missed doing the same thing against his stronger rivals and the second place in Burgos made him feel like Fabio Aru again. Now he could leave without it feeling like he was escaping the nightmare. He chose when to stop, he did it his way, as alwaysHe gets off his bike at 31 years and 2 months, the same age Gigi Riva was when he left football collapsing on the pitch with a cry of painFabio Aru leaves with a smile, after having given a new symbol to Sardinia, which is already missing him. Those who ask him why answer: "Because I want to fully enjoy my great passion, cycling."
