Prospects ready for a leap forward, that's the mission of the Italian women's continentals. In Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria We are working to continue to "pull out" athletes to be delivered to the upper floor. Even trying to win bets.
In the last few years Giovanni Fidanza certainly didn't hide when it came to taking and developing girls who came from other disciplines or even other sports. This year too Isolmant (in the opening photo Ossola) has remained faithful to his philosophy, managing to achieve results that go beyond placing in a finishing order. We spoke about it with the team manager of the Bergamo-based team, currently competing in the European Championships in Belgium with Victory Racing Service.
Giovanni, what conclusions can you draw from this season so far?
We've had a balanced schedule for the girls we have. We've always done well, even though we've only won one race. However, we've achieved many top ten finishes and many second places, the last one on Sunday in Racconigi with Gaia Tormena. Getting results is important to reward sponsors and boost morale, but for us the goal is to help our girls grow..
How did you approach the international competitions?
We've always gone to the toughest races to learn. For example we finished the Giro Women's cycling with four athletes and that's not a small thing, taking into account the difficulty of the routeTwo of them, Arici and Pepoli, are in their second year in the category and did very well. We were satisfied with the girls, because for them it was a great experience and a great opportunity to improveIn fact, the effects were immediately visible in the following races.
You mentioned a few girls, including Tormena, who was a potential target of yours. How's it going?
Gaia is patiently arriving to a good level in his path as a road racerA victory for him would be the icing on the cake. And I say this considering that he didn't play in the youth categories, She lacks some basics, such as holding positions in a group or managing energy while running.To overcome all this, she should consequently race more on the road, but it is not easy for her to reconcile the off-road activity. In MTB, she's a top athlete, absolutely outstanding. In July, she won her fifth Eliminator World Championship.At that time she was in good condition and I would have liked to take her to the Giro Women's cycling, but we couldn't. She was born in 2002, still very young, and should stay with us next year, so we'll try to figure out how to make her race more.
What can you tell us about the other names you mentioned?
Pepoli he was with us last year too and is continuing to learn. Arici, on the other hand, started with us in June. He comes from mountain biking and cyclocross., has good potential and is basically just getting through her first few months on the road. However, both need to grow slowly, given that they're nineteen and twenty-one, respectively. A girl who has made great strides forward is Asia ZontoneShe also came from cyclocross and now she's very close to completing the adaptation process. Al Tour of the Mediterranean She went strong, collecting a podium and finishing fourth overall. She deserved a little more luck. And she's one of the others who finished the Giro Women's cycling.
In your Isolmant there is always the same mix of girls.
Yes, exactly. From young people to those who come from off-road or other sports up to the most experienced, who are however under 29 years old. There is Rossato who is always an example for allShe is a tenured teacher at school, but she always manages to be ready for competitions, especially the most important ones. There is Zanetti who is always present in sprints and always scores his victories, like the one in San Miniato at Easter. And then all the others who never fail to show commitment and hard work for their companions.
We discussed the ProTeam reform for 2025 in November. Are your thoughts still the same?
First of all we have no official communications yet and therefore it becomes very difficult to understand many thingsHow many professional cars will there be and what will the space be like for the continental cars? Rumour has it that they should leave open the invitations to the continental teams even in the most important races. like the Giro, Tour, or other classics. If that were the case, it would be a good thing, at least for Italian teams, since none would have to obtain a high school diploma, barring some possible merger. In any case, I repeat, I wouldn't want the UCI to have raised the bar too much, wanting the ProTeams without properly clarifying certain limits and regulations.
