"This is the story of a book already written. Or rather, one we are writing," he begins. Massimiliano Gentili, former professional and sports director of Giulio Pellizzari when he was a junior atUC Foligno. There was and still is a strong bond between the two.
Today Pellizzari is one of the most concrete hopes we have for stage races. His second place in the Future Tower It was confirmation of a growth process that was evident to all, but for one reason or another, failed to fully flourish. Now the scenario is changing.
In the family…
«Over the last four years – says Gentili, in the opening photo next to Pellizzari – I have practically lived for him, or almost. I came to Giulio because before him I had his brother Gabriele in the team, with whom we still keep in touch, by the way. The other day I teased him because he was in France cheering on Giulio and came home after the start of the stage he won. Which is exactly what his dad did. Achilles al Tour of the AlpsHe left and the next day Giulio did that big stop!
The first time Gentili met Pellizzari, Giulio was a rookie. It tells the story of a small boy, very small in fact… skinny, who probably didn't even weigh 40 kilos.
«That day we went cycling together on a little circuit in our area, as soon as a climb came, it went off like a stone… I told him to calm down. But he immediately showed some character."
Nothing under 23
Gentili watches him grow. He understands that there can be a lot of good in this boy, who, in addition to being a good athlete, is also a polite and humble person.
"As a student," Gentili says, "Giulio won only one race. But more than anything else, during that period, realizing that he could be really good, I started running tests on him. But these were aimed not at pushing him to his limits, but at protecting him.
"I'm lucky to have always kept myself in good shape, even after finishing my career. I ride my bike and I still put in a few hours at a good level. I know how to understand, I know how to evaluate and I still remember the leg pain. I went out with the boys and saw that there was something really good going on."
Giulio was always improving. But when he turned junior, Covid struck. Like his peers, he missed a season or so. But he was going strong. Gentili kept telling him that he could lose, that he could even find someone stronger than him, but with those legs, he couldn't drop below third place.
And so after that year, things changed. Pellizzari had a good winter, but still considering that school was involved, and he improved even further. Let's just say he stopped "playing" on his bike as he had done up until then.
«For him – continues Gentili – I did something I had never done before: I started picking up the phone and making myself heard, even by the coaches in the national team...
«And I told Giulio: “If it goes the way I say, you'll skip the amateurs and become a professional”. I had this idea both because I was starting to see these young projects that were born in the pro teams, and because the real protection for him was that».
Max actually makes a technical point about not having sent Pellizzari to the under-23s. Giulio isn't fast, nor is he a dragon on the bike... even if he's improving.
"Throwing him into the classic under-23 squad," he explains, "would have meant wasting him, or at least undervaluing him. We might even have lost him. He needed a period of growth. “You are a stage racer and I have to ferry you,” I kept telling him. Even today, despite the Avenir and everything else, if I took him to run in the Castiglion Fibocchi race, Giulio would have his difficulties."
The team
Things are moving forward, even beyond training cycling and that's how it actually is A team was born: Gentili, Giulio, and their father, Achille. And then there was the coach, Leonardo Piepoli.
Gentili knows that at certain levels, the team and the staff are good, but above all you need some fixed points: someone who will be by your side even and especially in the most difficult moments. A bit like Nibali did over time: with Pallini, Magni, Agnoli, Vanotti… A small team, within the team. Pellizzari hasn't gotten that far yet, but the concept is there.
"Protecting him is my watchword," Gentili explains. "I don't want him to make the same mistakes I did and find himself alone in the face of the difficulties that will come. I remember, for example, the story of his withdrawal from Giro Next Gen.
He had prepared meticulously: he was aiming hard for the Stelvio and even more. A few days before the start, he developed a fever. We all decided (including the Green Project, ed.) not to let him do anything. On Thursday, he went for a ride. Things seemed to be going better until the team presentations. That evening, I was about to call him. The Giro was starting with a time trial, and I wanted to know when it was starting. I picked up the phone and He calls me in tears: “My fever is back and I also have intestinal problems.” We tried to leave, but by then the omelette was done. I consoled him on the phone for fifteen minutes. That's what a team is for, as I say.
"Because from that support, little by little, you rise up stronger. Today, your head, which was once a weakness, has become a strength."
Pellizzari achieved victory at the Medio Brenta with anger, not with his legs. And the criticism after Capodarco, which is almost Giulio's home race, needed to be weighed. Many expected something from him.
«We are in Capodarco – says Gentili – If I turn around, there's the sea and these on the hill are olives. Well, Giulio isn't the type for the sea or olive trees, but for mountain peaks and fir trees. And maybe not even those for the quotas where he is doing well."
Like Kuss
Piepoli called Gentili into the mix. It's not that Max didn't know what he was doing, but at certain levels, you need a professional figure who's part of the pro world. The two had known each other for years. There was trust. The comparison between dad, Max and Leonardo is constant.
The transition to the Green Project-Bardiani Some of the boy's entourage turned up their noses. Not because of the team he was going to, mind you, but because, especially in Central Italy, they had broken the mold: juniors, under-23s, pros.
«Giulio has exceptional physiological values – he confirms – and yet As a junior, he only won three races. But that wasn't the important thing. I told him that by going pro and working a certain way, he'd be stronger by his second year... and so it was. That he'd first find himself side by side with the strongest teammates in training and then he'd get ahead in the races. A page in our history has already been written. I always tell Achille, Giulio is the son I never had!
«He was asked what his dream was and he replied to win the Tour de France. I don't know if he will succeed, his limits are not yet known, but if with the values he has, with his recovery, already became a Sepp kuss It wouldn't be bad. But these are dreams, and there's another book for dreams."
