Three races this season, only one name on the list of winners: among the juniors, there's currently an absolute dominance unlike anything seen in cycling in a long time. Sunday in Cittiglio, Francesca Pellegrini he put his signature on the 9th Small Binda Trophy (opening photo Rubino), confirming that she is in sensational form, which has put all her opponents in awe. Winning helps you win, it has always been said., but in the case of the Bergamo team, these victories are also synonymous with a great desire for redemption.
These are very busy days for the girl from Lombardy. Between school hours, training sessions, and preparing for the trip to Belgium for the Ghent-Wevelgem weekend and finding some time to talk is not easy. The standard-bearer of the Valcar Travel & Service She admits to feeling a little overwhelmed by all the attention.
«This streak surprised even me – he says – I think it is mainly due to how things went last year, which ended without the results I expected."
What happened?
Nothing special, just that I wasn't seeing the results I was hoping for after so much effort and I got a bit down. During the winter I worked hard, not only in physical training but also working on myself., on my belief and I believe that the results are coming also because of this.
How did Francesca Pellegrini the cyclist come into being?
Definitely by chance, because no one in my family was into cycling. Only my grandfather was passionate, but not a practitioner. As a child, I was a bit of a tomboy. To vent my exuberance, my parents told me to choose between football and cycling. I tried both and I liked the second one better. At 6 years old I immediately started competing in the G1 category. and I never stopped.
First victory at the Gossolengo GP (photo Ghilardi) A week after triumph at the City of Ceriale Trophy (photo Ossola)
First victory at the Gossolengo GP (photo Ghilardi) A week after triumph at the City of Ceriale Trophy (photo Ossola)
You were practically born on a bike…
How many laps did I do in my backyard? It was my track. I barely used the training wheels, I quickly found my balance, and then it was all a game of pedaling, jumping, and running. My parents were quiet, I always walked around the house.
How do your victories come about?
Let's say my favorite terrain is climbs. I like tough, difficult races, where you can take away breakawaysI'm quite fast, but not fast enough to stand out in bunch sprints, so you need to get to the finish line in small groups or after a really tough race. Sunday was ideal from this point of view. It took me a while to get going, but gradually I saw that I could maintain a good pace and when Eleonora Ciabocco, the Italian champion, launched the attack I was ready to respond and we found ourselves in front of 6. I set a very long sprint, maybe even too long, but it went well.
You know you have a sportingly important surname…
Eh, that's quite a weight… If I could only achieve a fraction of what Federica has achieved in swimming, I would already be very happy.Let's just say this comparison always makes me feel a little stronger.
You're coming off three victories, the last of which was in an international race. Now you're off to Ghent-Wevelgem, and it's clear that expectations have risen.
Even from me on myself. I was already in the national team last year at the European Championships in Trento, but as I said, last year's Francesca wasn't the real one.Now I'm much more aware of what I can do. The victory in Cittiglio gave me a lot of energy. On Sunday I'll face many of the opponents I beat there and some even stronger, but I'm starting out knowing I can do well.
Based on your characteristics, it should be a path that suits you…
Altimetrically yes, I like it a lot. I don't know how I'll adapt to the cobblestones though., that will be an absolute discovery and I'm very curious to see how I will find it.
Ghent aside, what else do you have planned this season?
There is no specific race, I'm just saying that I would really like to earn a call-up to the World Cup in AustraliaI don't have any particular goals for the results, just wearing the blue jersey on an occasion like this will be a great privilege, but if it happens, I'll give it my all, as always.
We've gathered from your results that one-day races are your thing. It remains to be seen how you fare in stage races.
I only tried once, last year, at the Giro delle Marche, but it started the day after the Europeans and it didn't count for much. I am convinced that I can do well, because I have always recovered well even after days of heavy loads, But a stage race is a whole different ballgame. It's a whole new world waiting to be discovered.
