Alice Maria Arzuffi è still struggling with cyclocrossIn Italy the races are over, but it is also true that from this point of view the girl from Giussano is Belgian to the core, so he still has two weekends of activity ahead, which will bring the seasonal total to just around 25. Last year, without Covid, the score was above 30. Really a lot!
Twenty-six years old and always with blue eyes, Arzuffi has returned to the Valcar in which he had already run in 2019 and from which, all things considered, she would never have left. She was forced by the difficult moment the company went through in September 2019, of which President Villa also told usAt that point, seeing that the crucial period of cross-country was about to open, Alice (who is registered with the Fiamme Oro) decided to return to Bizkaia Durango, a Basque team, to race cross-country with the Team 777.
«But since my coach is Davide Arzeni - He says - the fact of returning to Valcar allows me to have perfect management between road and cross. So I'll take two weeks off and I will be ready for my debut at the Flèche Wallonne and at LiègeOf course, it won't be an ordinary debut: the team knows I'm going to help, because I won't be able to be ready right away. But this year I'm super motivated, even on the road. When you're part of such a strong group, it's normal to be motivated. I think I can achieve good results in the classicsIn the general rankings, my preparation does not allow me to obtain sensational results."
Yet perhaps by characteristics they would be your daily bread?
Exactly. I think that due to my muscle fibers and athletic characteristics, I could be a stage race athleteI'm more built for endurance races than for 50-minute cross-country runs. But equally cross remains the main choice.
For you this is clear: this is not a filler after the road…
It's definitely a first choice. The level the men have reached with Van der Poel and Van Aert proves it, but the women's races in Belgium and the Netherlands have also grown significantly. Someone like Lucinda Brand, who used to come for fun, has now made it her primary choice. In my opinion, however, in Italy this specialty is undervalued.There are two or three of us who follow the international activity in Northern Europe and frankly it's sad.
There are young people coming.
And maybe now something will change. It would be necessary for the teams to decide to do international activitiesLeaving aside the Covid season, In Italy there are 4 international competitions per year, in Belgium there are 25This is also why the level of the athletes up there is so high.
What will you take with you from this experience in cross-country?
So much experience. I wouldn't have won so many races without this lifestyle choice. Before, I wasn't technically prepared, now I can talk about my bike, about technical choices on chainrings, for example, and I can think about tire pressure. And then I take away the awareness of how big this sport is and that's what I'd like to convey to Italians. Sometimes I think I'd like to be a city managerWe need cross-country teams that run on the road in the summer, so as to offer a complete program. Otherwise, as always, the strong juniors will end up being sent to the road...
Honor to Masciarelli's choice, then?
He deserves admiration. At the World Championships I also spoke with his father, who moved up there to give Lorenzo a chance, but they gave themselves a time limitIf he doesn't emerge as a top 10 player globally, he'll take to the road.
Let's talk about the road then, what are your races?
Certainly my favorites are Amstel and FlandersI haven't done the classics in recent years because I'm not in top form in April, but they're certainly a goal I'll aim for in my career. So maybe I'll stop doing cross-country after the World Championships.
And Roubaix?
It's the one with the most affinity with cross, but let's not tell Arzeni, because it's too close to my returnThe break I will have to do will be used for recover physically and mentallyI could go straight on, because I'm in better shape than many who haven't competed, but I don't have the distance in my legs to run it.
Have you tried the new Cannondale?
Not yet, but I'm super happy to have it. I can't wait to get started, but now it's better to focus on cross-country skiing. Last Saturday there was snow, and looking at the photos the girls up there are posting, it's still going to be freezing.
