By Martina Alzini They had lost track of each other a bit. A spring made difficult by knee problems, few races in weeks packed with events, the goal of the Tour Femmes to prepare not without difficulty. Then a week that bordered on madness, with a real rain of races at the Italian track championships and, as soon as they finished, straight on the plane to Berlin for the Tour de Berlin.
A test fully passed to see his reactions in terms of resistance. In the three days of competition at the Italian Championships, Alzini took home 4 titles (individual points, Madison, team pursuit and team sprint) with the corollary of a silver in the scratch and bronze in the individual pursuit and omnium, then in Germany another third place arrived, confirming the condition now recovered.
In telling her extraordinary week, the Legnanese starts right from the Italian review, surprising the interlocutor: «I would have liked to do even moreI wanted to do all the endurance events, but the elimination race was too close to the individual pursuit; there wasn't the physical possibility. However, I enjoyed doing the team sprint; it was a plus."
Why this excursion into a specialty so far from your habits?
It was a new thing I did to stay close to my great friend Miriam The evening. As children we always challenged each other, then we followed different paths, but we've always remained very close. Being able to share something, working together, was a challenge that made us happy regardless of the outcome.
Let's stay on the subject of track cycling. Despite your knee problem, you were able to race in two Nations Cup events, so you know the situation: what's the atmosphere like in the group of world champions?
We knew since last year that it would not be an easy year, the calendar was too crowded with road races. If we add to this the injuries that have affected everyone, here it is the overall results cannot come as a surpriseWe tried to manage ourselves, we were available whenever we could, we always gave our all. Even the World Championship, due to the overlapping dates with the road races, doesn't favor us, on the contrary. Especially those coming from the Tour will be at a disadvantage. What is certainly not lacking is the cohesion between us and this fact leads me to optimism.
What value do you give to these tricolor jerseys?
Very high, and on this point I want to open a parenthesis and thank, as I did on my Instagram profile, all the girls and boys who participated, despite a compressed period in the calendar, even though it coincided with the women's Giro. We have often complained in the past about the lack of space given to the Italian championships, Now that we have good organizers who put everything they have into setting them up, it's only right to honor their commitment.There are those who, despite being otherwise busy, have found at least one day to compete and I consider this important: this is why these are Italian titles that have value.
You didn't even finish the Italian tour before you had to go to Germany for the Tour de Berlin Feminin. Did you have time to get used to the road again?
To be honest, it was a city race, so it was perfect for track cyclists: all in the center of Berlin, with plenty of curves. There's an interesting anecdote about the outcome of the race that closely reflects the cycling we live in. The use of radios was not allowed, so when the Swiss Hartmann ran away, neither we of the Cofidis nor the girls of the Park Hotel we noticed itThe route was full of curves, so it couldn't be seen. With the radios, that wouldn't have happened; we would have known and organized ourselves.
What level was it?
It wasn't of the highest level, among the WorldTour teams there was only Israel, the winner's team, but for me it was however useful for regaining confidence with international tests. Immediately after I went to high altitude, to refine my preparation for the Tour.
Did the fact that you couldn't do the Giro d'Italia weigh on you?
Enormously, Every time I sit in front of the TV I feel a pang in my heart.We're a continental team and we weren't invited. I was very disappointed because we had hoped for it. At the beginning of the season I had marked the Giro and the track world championships with the highlighter, like the events where you have to be at your best. Then things went differently, for many reasons, but I'm Italian and For me the Giro always represents something special.
You still have the Tour, what are the prospects?
We'll see. We have Clara. Koppenburg who can aim for the ranking and we will certainly run to help her, but If I think about the Tour I can't deny that I'm living this wait with a bit of fearWe went to reconnoiter some stages, and I can say it's going to be incredibly tough. If I had to say, there might be one stage suitable for a sprint...
What scares you?
With a start like the one expected, everyone will want to be in front, there will always be a battle and Above all, there will be a high risk of falls and this is what is scary, thinking about what will happen after the French raceThere will always be tension. Everyone says the Tourmalet stage will be decisive, but I think the classification will be decided even before then. To be honest, I'm not thinking about the result. My hope is to stay up...
