COMANO TERME – When the road goes up, Gaia Realini always answers presentToday she took home a tricolor jersey, pushing herself without reserve on every climb of the final circuit. The title is under 23, but it represents a victory as a domestique, which is almost never possible when the captain raises her arms.
«In my opinion I'm happier than her» said the Realini on the awards stage after spitting out his newly opened champagne, earning a laugh from the entire audience. The Abruzzese's exuberance certainly doesn't match his size. Small and petite, she is the soul of the team, not surprisingly after arriving he began to scream with joy for the victory of Elisa Longo Borghini.
Main goal
«The main objective was to bring the Elite jersey back home". Gaia begins like this when asked how the race went. Connecting the dots, in fact, makes everything clearer. "Having helped her," she continues, "makes me even happier. We have carried out everything we decided yesterday. Everyone will have something to say about my race tactics. They'll say, "You could have attacked earlier," or "You could have played your cards." They can criticize as much as they want, but we brought home the tricolour and this is the most important thing.
«Honestly – she says – I'm much happier with his result than with mine. It's an important jersey and Maybe this evening I too will process this Italian result of mine.". This is exactly the impression, for Gaia the fact of having won the Italian U23 championship with her fourth place overall counts but not that much. For the record, the podium with her was made up of second Francesca Barale and third Gaia Masetti.
A word
Mom defined it “the craziest of the group”Gaia is a bundle of energy. "Tonight we'll celebrate with a kilo of ice cream." Her cheerfulness and lightheartedness have charmed every member of the group. From her teammates to the sports directors. Even Elisa's parents approached her to congratulate her and whisper to him, “Gaia, diamonds and precious things are often small, never big.”
To make her even more of a team mascot, there is a word that echoes from every member of the staff Trek SegafredoA word in dialect called "ngul." Easy to understand even for those who don't frequent the Abruzzo region. Even Slongo couldn't help but be infected by this exuberant being of GaiaSo much so that the young new U23 champion gave Paolo a shirt with that word printed on the chest just a few days ago. But this is a "locker room" story and should remain so.
Now the Giro
In less than a week il Giro Donne will start from Chianciano Terme and Trek-Segafredo, which took full points today, is ready to aim for the general classification. Realini is and will be in all respects one of the players called into question together with the Dutch Shirin van Anrooij. For them, both very young, 22 and 21 years old respectively, the Giro d'Italia will be a important test for the season.
«This match – concludes Realini – has certainly given me a lot of confidence and we will start with a strong and determined team. We will seek the best outcome and fight on every frontI am in a position to have my say and I'll be ready also for this important event".
Nine stages to prove he's up to the task. Since the start of the season, no one has ever questioned his loyalty and climbing prowess. It remains to be seen if the same holds true when his wheel must arrive first.
