With the Italian championships taken today in Castel Fusano, the national cross season reaches its peak, even if there are still events like that scheduled San Fior youth tricolor. It's been a long season, the first completely free from the constraints imposed by the pandemic.. Important issues regarding the future of the specialty also emerged.
It is undeniable that there is a creeping in the environment some doubts about the health of the movement and its prospectsMany in the industry feel that the discipline isn't given enough consideration. Perhaps because it lacks Olympic opportunities (winning Olympic medals is the primary factor unlocking the flow of contributions from the Italian Olympic Committee).
Too busy a calendar?
The main objection raised concerns the calendar: During the pandemic period it was decided to open it up as much as possible, promoting a large number of regional tests to the national levelIt was thought that after the pandemic, things would go backwards, but that wasn't the case, and this created discontent. We passed these concerns on to Massimo. Ghirotto, head of the FCI off-road commission. The former pro, however, is keen to emphasize that the issue needs to be looked at from the right perspective.
"It's true that during the Covid era," Ghirotto explains, "the authorization fees for entering the national calendar had been eliminated, and this had led to a significant expansion. We expected that, by returning to the previous situation, many would have their race's regional status restored, but this was not the case. Almost everyone paid the fee and applied.
We examined them all. If they met very specific criteria, regarding the event's history, organization, and service provision, we had to say yes. I emphasize "had to": based on the regulations we have. We also tried to take into account the coincidences and the distance. Only in a couple of cases were there races on the same day, but with 400 kilometers between one place and the other».
A progressive climb
The objection raised by many clubs in this regard is that this way the quality of events, in terms of participation, is diminished by diluting participation and this is detrimental to the development of young people.
«On this – continues Ghirotto – I beg to differ. I also hear that the races are impoverished. But in the meantime, if we speak from a quantitative point of view, it is difficult to gather 500-700 members considering the scale of the movement. The increased offering also allows companies to contain costs, choosing closer events and this is another factor to consider.
«As regards the quality of participation, let's get it into our heads that Comparison between everyone is not necessary every week. If we talk about young people, we must also give them the opportunity to emerge, to gradually compete at an adequate level. Sport is like a pyramid where the most talented climb to the top, little by little. I did the same in my time, all the way to the professionals. It takes time and above all patience, there are opportunities for discussion».
«The cross project already exists…»
Another important theme that emerges from the environment concerns the ever-difficult relationship between cross and road. Two elements have sparked discussion recently.
The first concerns the clause that Luca pallet he would have included it in his contract with the Green Project Bardiani, which allows him to do cyclo-cross activities in the winter.
The second is the deep investment, not only economic, that the FCI is making in the track speed sector, also to support the clubs that register specialists. Many wonder if the same could be done for cyclocross riders: why not create a project that allows the various From Pretto o Toneatti Just to name two, why not continue to practice cross-country? Ghirotto is being very drastic in this regard.
«There is already a project related to cross-country skiing – he explains – but they are taking care of it amadio e Pontoons, as it should be. An investment has been made, the manager is pursuing his ideas and working with the clubs. They say that this should be established with specific rules, but the rules already exist. Pontoni is moving within the framework of the setting of the Bragato's Team Performance, is making functional evaluations on all the new forces of Italian cycling, he has a huge database of names, but they are works that will only be completed in the long term».
Jealous of off-road guys…
The idea of multi-discipline has now become common even in Italian cycling culture: «Look at the case of Tugnolo from BMX to speed: he's just the latest. But I have to admit one thing: I'm a little jealous of the off-road guys. If we look closely, bringing MTB and cross-country talent to the road is easy, but how many take the opposite path?
«Only mature riders, who have achieved everything on the road, from Casagrande e Celestino onwards and always for the Marathons, because cross country and cross have technical implications that you don't learn as an adult... Multidisciplinary is beautiful and desirable, but it is complicated to put into practice.
«I also wanted to say a couple of words about Paletti. This year in cyclocross he has done very few races overall, his involvement is minimal. I, by the way, I spoke with Reverberi, finding availability, the awareness that he's a talent that needs time to grow, even through cyclocross. I'd like to find many others who think like this..."
