It begins. Sunday in Jesolo with the first stage of European Cup (opening photo, victories for Nadir Colledani and Eve Lechner) the cross season has officially entered into full swing, but there wasn't even time to look at the rankings as Pontoni and the national team immediately packed their bags for the long trip to the United States, where from Sunday 3 World Cup stages will take place in the space of a week, the first appointments of the challenge, completely modernized and inflated in its number of races: a total of 16.
The new head of the sector Daniele Punctual He pushed hard to plan the trip, despite the undoubted financial burdens, and the FCI agreed: "I must thank the sensitivity of the managers who understood how important this trip is. The second of the three stages will be on the World Championship route, so we will have the opportunity to study it in detail, get to know it and take the measuresWe'll be going with a small team, but made up of players who have already shown they're in good shape, which is ideal for the moment, considering we're just starting out and the really important events are still a long way off."
It starts while the road season is still underway…
It's a factor that has become normal in this non-stop cycling calendar. Brawls , Realini they have done a lot of activity during the year, Toneatti he dedicated himself to mountain biking while Masciarelli He's already done a few cyclocross outings, but he's also raced extensively on the road. That's not a problem; in fact, it fits into the multidisciplinary approach we absolutely must pursue. However, the boys had been on high alert for over a month and had had the time to reach a level of fitness suitable for the challenge.
Doesn't such a rich calendar (in addition to the Coppa, there are 8 stages of the Superprestige and X2O Trophee and in Italy 7 stages of the Giro d'Italia plus 23 other national trials) constitute an enormity in relation to the numbers of the movement?
I have always been convinced that abundance is better than poverty. It's up to the teams and athletes to know how to manage themselves, choose the right appointments, and above all, focus on their goals. Having two national trials every Sunday is not a disadvantage, it allows teams to be able to carry out activities with a good range of choices. Let's not forget that we're coming off a season in which every event was at risk, navigating absolute uncertainty. Now there's more room for manoeuvre.
It's also true, however, that with the overlapping of calendars, the result will be that what we see at the start of the cyclocross season will not correspond to the values of the world championships...
It has already been seen and it will continue to be so, increasingly, but it is not necessarily a bad thing – replies Pontoni – Initially, hierarchies will be established which will then inevitably be called into question when the big names arrive, presumably not before November. Look what happened last year, with iserbyt absolute protagonist until the European Championships and then much less brilliant when the various teams entered the scene Van der Poel, Van Aert e pidcockWe have to get used to this and in the future things will change again.
How?
I think that not now, but in 2-3 years we will also have to deal with a new specialty, the gravel, which will have its own competitions and its own performers who will then transfer to other disciplines and vice versa. For this reason, it is essential that athletes and teams learn to plan, also taking into account the moments of total detachment from the activity. and this applies to all disciplines.
Based on your first few weeks in your new role, how are the relationships between road and off-road? Is there still mistrust from the professional world?
I say things are changing. I'll give you an example: Mirko Celestino, the MTB technician, wanted my collaboration for the European and World Cross Country Championships and I will do the same for the title races in cyclocross. There is dialogue between all the technical componentsThe Federation has been clear on this.
True, but then cases like Francesca's happen. Baroni who is experiencing a conflict between the road and cyclocross teams that could lead her to abandon the activity…
It's a delicate case that can only be resolved by finding a balance between the athlete and the road team. I can say that We have spoken often with Francesca and she knows what her place is in the Pontoni and Bielli national team., then we will respect her choices, but she knows that we are waiting for her and that we are a big family of which she is a part. I don't want to pass judgement on the matter, I just hope everything turns out well. However, it should be clear that this situation doesn't reflect a general system of coexistence among the various activities, aimed at collaboration.
Another novelty of these weeks is Bertolini's arrival at Dorigoni's Selle Italia Guerciotti: Is being on the same team an advantage for the two strongest players at the moment?
Let's go back to what we were talking about before: if you have multiple events, you can also decide to send them to different races and only have them meet at certain events. They are two mature boys who are part of the team perhaps more prepared in Italy, in which I also ran and I know well how they move, with what professionalism, how they are equipped.
In your opinion, is the time ripe to overthrow the much-maligned Belgium-Netherlands diarchy?
No, not now – Pontoni decrees – but we are certainly working towards this. From this perspective, I see the European Cup very favourably., which broadens the continental base to include countries that aren't top-tier, but let's realize we're dealing with organizations that are clearly ahead in terms of numbers of practitioners and resources. I'm optimistic and say we'll get there, but with time.
