«I felt finished, arrived». Sometimes you reach your limits before you expect and It is precisely at this moment that we must not give up but try to find the most suitable situation for ourselves.. Just like Silvia “Polly” Pollicini, cyclist of the Valcar-Travel&Service (opening photo @twilcha), who in a certain sense hung his Cannondale on the nail…
How did sport enter your life?
My father is a physical education teacher. Since I was very little I have practiced various sports starting from swimming up to what, up to now, has been the greatest love of my life: cycling.
And the triathlon?
When I was six, a boy I was skiing with told me about this strange sport. His uncle was the president of the Aosta Valley Triathlon e I went one summer to a mini training camp with lots of kidsI had so much fun that I forced my father to sign me up. I stopped at the age of fifteen, when I realized that cycling was my sport..
What attracted you to the bike?
Gradually I realized that, I don't know why, Of the three of us, cycling was the sport I liked the most and at twelve years old I forced myself to train to become a cyclist.. Although, for fun, I still did some triathlon competitions.
Three adjectives to define the two sports.
Triathlon is unique, tiring, and exciting. Cycling is intense, tiring, I would say it “destroys the soul” (laughs, ed.) but it's more appropriate to say... exciting.
What is the main difference?
They are both very tough sports, but when I was little I perceived cycling as simpler because it was unique and not made up of three different sports.
The Valcar…
It's my familyAs a second-year junior, I was asked to join and gladly accepted. The following year, the UCI project began. I was in my first elite year and stayed on the team. And it was thanks to it that I began to grow so much both athletically and as a person..
Elisa Balsamo…
She's my best friend. We met in Valcar and were roommates for six yearsOver time this has been established very intense and beautiful relationship of friendship and loyalty. When she raised her hands to the sky that day, at the World Cup (she gets chills, ed.) I cried all the tears I could cryI consider her like a sister, it was a beautiful emotion to see her in those colors. I still don't believe it and I don't think she does either. It sounds very utopian, but it really happened!
Why quit cycling?
I am 22 years old and Unfortunately this year I had the feeling of having arrived, finished as an athlete, of not being able to go any further. I saw that the others continued to grow, probably because Mother Nature has provided me with a capacity limit that I have reachedFeeling like this made me feel bad, I've been thinking a lot since May. And I said to myself: "Why not start from scratch and find something I can grow in so I don't feel finished?" So I remembered the triathlon I had run away from when I was fifteen. (smiles, ed.) They say coming home always feels good. I don't have a crystal ball, I don't know how it will go, but to find out I have to try.One thing is certain: I wanted to change that feeling I had and this is the solution I like best.
Which team will you join and with what goals?
La Raschiani Triathlon of Pavia. First of all I will try to find my place within this sport, to understand first of all which distances I am best suited for and then grow a lot to evaluate more concrete objectives.
Have you already resumed your running and swimming training?
I've always run and swam in the off-season, but my weak point at the moment is runningSwimming, in my opinion, is a sport in which you improve more easily, I'll have to learn some water skills again, but I have a lot of techniqueThe race will take a little longer. The other day I ran six kilometers and when I finished my legs hurt like crazy. (laughs, ed.).
What great emotion comes to mind when you think of your cycling journey?
The first, as a junior, when Elisa Balsamo won the Italian championship. I'd been in the breakaway with her the whole time, I'd helped her, and when I saw her with her arms raised to the sky, I started crying and couldn't stop. I will miss my classmates.
