Let's take a little step back because the Italian team's trip to the second stage of the Track World Cup in Milton gave important signals. It's easy to say that many big names were missing, unlike what happened in Glasgow where everyone was there to "keep themselves safe" in view of the call-ups for the World Cup in France in October. It may be true, but if we look at numbers and attendance, the results were important from an Italian perspective, especially for Elisa Balsamo.
The world road champion has been missing from the "on the road" calendar for a month, a considerable absence but one that had been planned with the Trek Segafredo thinking about the length of the season and the objectives to be identified after the more than profitable campaign in the North: «I had to take a break; the first part had been tough. During this period, between Glasgow and Milton, I even went a week without touching the bike. We evaluated, with the team and with Villa, my presence in Canada and it could be useful to recover for the road, so I agreed to participate in the trip."
The balance couldn't have been better, with 3 victories...
I actually found myself in better condition than I thought and this gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.
Let's start with the team pursuit. Despite the absence of Germany and Great Britain, the feeling is that you've improved compared to last year.
There has undoubtedly been a step forward. Especially because We are not just 4 girls, but there is a large group, with continuous additions: in Milton we went into the qualification without ever having trained together and after the first test we were already close, as we saw in the semi-final and finalThe final time wasn't the best, but that's normal if you don't rehearse together. I'd also like to point out that Barbara was among us. You heal who hadn't competed on the track for about ten years... This is what I mean when I talk about a large group, there are many girls who can join the team and this also means that there is competition to do so, there are no guaranteed places.
What is missing to close that small gap with the countries mentioned above?
Honestly, it's hard to say, I know Villa is working hard on it. The training method has changed, he is generous with advice and we work a lot also on the basis of the experience of the boys who have won Olympic gold.In the meantime, however, we constantly demonstrate that track and road can coexist very well, without taking anything away from each other.
While the quartet lacked the top athletes, the omnium featured the gold and silver medals from Tokyo. Did putting them behind you give you any added satisfaction, or did it make you regret that fall even more?
To tell the truth, I hadn't thought about it, I hadn't reflected on who I had left behind.I'm pleased, it gives that victory added meaning, but if I really have to say, I don't think about Tokyo anymore. It's a closed chapter, followed by many others, many truly beautiful ones, and I've always been driven to look forward. I didn't have a particular spirit of revenge, that's for sure; every race is a story in itself.
Third race and third win in Madison. Villa has always maintained that to stand out in what was "his" specialty, great teamwork is needed.
It's true and the fact that Chiara and I (agree(with her in the opening photo, ed.) we won in our first race together should not be misleading. The harmony is the first component to emerge and Madison is a great "work in progress", so much so that on the track we always work together with the boys, precisely because we have to improve a lot in techniqueWe know that the coach is very demanding; for example, we're still lacking in substitutions. When we're good enough, we'll make different pairs, all female, but it takes time and patience.
When will you be back on track?
I don't know, we haven't talked about it yet. For the European Championships we will have to understand how to manage the short time gap between the track and road races, we will try to find the most suitable solutionMonaco is a flat course, which could lead to a final sprint, and I want to be there. Maybe racing on the track first could give me that extra something.
And on the road?
I'm starting again this week with RideLondon, where I've already been on the podium twice. The Giro and Tour await me, and I'm eager to race now that my batteries have been recharged...
BREAKING NEWS: All good things come in threes. In the first stage of the RideLondon, the world champion finished second in the bunch sprint, beaten by the other sprint queen, Dutchwoman Lorena Wiebes, who finished fifth with Guazzini, Persico, and Consonni. Not a bad comeback...
