When he showed up at the car rental desk on Saturday morning dressed in his tracksuit, Trek-Segafredo, the guy behind the counter asked him if he was going to race the Paris-RoubaixAt that point Jacopo Mosca realized how particular the situation was. He replied that he was going there, yes, but not to runDo you think he could have explained to him that he was going up there to say hello to his partner and then he would go back home to train?
The background
The background is in the words by Elisa Longo Borghini after the victory of Paris-Roubaix, completing a speech he had made at his departure, when he had revealed something incredible to us.
«Jacopo's gesture of coming today was beautiful. He came to say hello. He stopped for an hour and then left to go up high, since he's preparing for the Giro.He knew I was having a rough time, that things weren't going the way I wanted. And in the end, he surprised me. I found it thereI told him no, that if he came I would kill him. But he came anyway."
Suitcase in hand
Imagine the scene and then if necessary we could ask for the file, since Elisa herself yesterday, at the presentation of the Liège teams, admitted that someone might have filmed her. The two have been together for a while. Until now, it had never been talked about out of respect, but they were the first to make it public recently (in the opening photo they are at the start of the Gran Piemonte 2021) and this story is a moment of spiritual richness that they wanted to share with us and for which we thank them.
«I arrived at the team hotel – Mosca says amusedly – and All the staff greeted me, some understanding and some not.Since the girls had finished breakfast, I slipped into the living room and ate too. Elisa had forgotten to bring her suitcase downstairs, so I was there talking and saw her from afar. She saw me too, but didn't realize it. "What are you doing here?". He had certain eyes… He needed a change of mood, to feel someone close to him."
Heights and Sicily
Let's go back. Mosca is high up in Sierra Nevada, ahead of the Tour of SicilyElisa's program does not include Roubaix, so they organized themselves for be at home on April 16-17, the day after the Sicilian raceThen Jacopo will head to high altitude for the Giro, and Elisa to Belgium for the Freccia and Liège. Therefore, the plan is to go to Sicily directly from Barcelona, leaving the car at the airport and picking it up after the race.
«Instead it turns out that they take it to Roubaix – says Jacopo – and at that point the plans go to hell. I'm coming down from Sierra Nevada and I'll meet you at home for 6 hours before I leave for SicilyBut meanwhile, while I was up there, I had begun to think it could be done. Except that flights were impossible. So I went to Sicily and found myself in a room with Moschetti. He is familiar with France and by searching he comes up with a nice flight to Paris Charles de GaulleIt was the evening before the last stage, the next day I wake up early and buy the ticketI'll book the rental car after the race. At 23pm on Friday I'm at home in Piedmont».
The journey begins
And the journey begins. Moscow loads bikes into carsHis father is afraid that he wants to drive to Paris and is only reassured when his son tells him that he's going by plane. At 3,30am it leaves for Turin airportLeave your car and bikes in the secure parking lot. The flight is at 6:00, so he's in Paris at 7:30. He takes the car and arrives at the team hotel in Valenciennes at 9:30..
"These are things that are done," he smiles, "but they don't really help one's life as an athlete. I can't say I've recovered. But a lot Sunday was Easter and I was going to have lunch at my parents' house, so a practically free day. I was leaving the Sicilian work block, I was supposed to do three hours on Monday. On the other hand, Elisa needed a little gritI don't know if my presence changed things, but it helped. I was done for Saturday night, it's true, but do you know how many times we're stuck around for days because of cancelled flights?».
Just one hour
They stay together for an hour. Then, when Elisa goes to the departure meeting, Jacopo leaves again towards the airportAnd he is also lucky in this undertaking, because the flight will leave half an hour late so he has time to see the triumphant arrival of his partner from his cell phone already on the plane.
«When he crossed the finish line – he admits – I screamed and the stewardess came to silence meLuckily, the passengers behind me understood that I was following and that I was… a little concerned about it. I'm not saying I was certain she could win, but I was sure she would be in the thick of it. She didn't want to run it and she didn't feel safe, but that race was made for her. I know little about the North, but to win the Roubaix you need strength and knowing how to ride a bike: that's his identikit!
Direction Sestriere
The flight to Turin is at 14pm. At 4:00 PM, Jacopo is back in Italy. He picks up his car and is already in Sestriere by 7:00 PM., where he is still preparing for the Giro.
Elisa will probably go to visit him on Tuesday or Wednesday, then it will be time for him to leave for Hungary. We jokingly asked him if he'd thought about coming to say hello to Liège. He replied laughingly that today he has to keep his distance. And if he tried to leave again, he probably would Luca Guercilena It would tear up both of our contracts. But, dear Jacopo Mosca, let me say: this trip was truly a good thing.
