There are still the puny and small students, destined to grow over time, until they become real riders? Or the exuberant physicality of this period leaves room only for the most developed physiques, closing doors in the face of others? Are we certain, however, that the results achieved by athletes ahead of their time are destined to be repeated even in adulthood?
The reasonings of Alberto Puerini, sporting director from the Marche region, and the statistics processed in recent days by Gabriele Gentili deserve further investigation. For this reason we turned to Diego Bragato, responsible for the performance sector of the Federation. His task, among others, is to test the younger riders: especially the juniors, but also the second year students and the youngsters Silvia Epis for Eyof, the European Youth Olympic Summer Festival. Is it just a feeling that the students are, on average, more structured than in the past?
«It's a general thing – Bragato replies – physically they are more structured. Finally, after years of repeating it in training courses, the idea is spreading that we need to look at the athlete before the cyclist and so structurally for some years the kids have been mostly athletes."
Could it also be, as Puerini says, the consequence of greater use of the gym?
There is more attention, because there is probably more professionalism in the gyms. They know how to evaluate the moment when you can actually start working on strength tooAs soon as a boy has reached the physiological, sexual and hormonal maturity to assimilate strength training, it is right to work on it. Probably as an evolution we have reached the point where this moment has been brought forward a little.
Are there still skinny students who need more time?
There are, we still have some that need to be developed, but in a smaller percentage than a few years ago.
Is there a risk that the precociousness of others will become an insurmountable obstacle for them?
Yes, of course, also as a consequence of the fact that we try to perform at our best in the juniors. Those that tend to mature later are unfortunately damaged, in fact, in my opinion, we must not forget that some people have different maturation times. We should also look back and leave a window open in the under 23s for those who come out a little later. Because in any case, among juniors there is a big difference between being born in January and December.
From what you see from the tests, do you tend to work more with the students?
I don't have a lot of data in hand, but I follow those that produce important results and workloads have actually increasedThis, as we were saying, is due to the fact that the junior category has become even more important. It's as if today's juniors were yesterday's U23s, and consequently the students work like the juniors of a few years ago. That said, In my opinion it is still premature to increase the volume of work for students, because the physiological differences in development are even more marked than in juniors. The difference between chronological age and biological age is still very large, so it's too early to expect certain performances.
Students still have limited relationships: good or bad?
As I see it, a good thing. Maybe it will make us lose something on an international level., because when you mix the cards as a junior, who has already worked with certain relationships It's ahead of its time. But in my opinion, it's not a problem: If you want to work within the right timeframe, you have plenty of time to make up that gap.
Do you think the transition to free relationships is still a very high obstacle?
If we're talking about the athletes we work with, it's not. They're built, big, physically strong athletes. But if I think about the companies that also have... For children who are not yet physically developed, the situation is more difficult to manageThey will have to be good at managing the transition.
And the Italian and foreign junior teams will have to be good – we take the liberty of noting – as they are falling more and more frequently into the easy trap to catch the kids who win a lot at 16, letting slip away those who would have the potential to do so in a significant way after 20. Everything and immediately: it has never been a profitable rule in everyday life, let alone in a strenuous sport like cycling.
