The team Vangi Sama Spare Parts won the team classification reserved for the junior category, a result that comes at the end of a season full of growth and confirmation. Matteo Berti, who has been leading the Tuscan team for two seasons, is enjoying a break from his career. Although preparations for 2026 have already begun, not so assiduously, there is no shortage of work (Facebook photo at the beginning).
"Let's just say we're fully preparing for next year," Berti says, "and we'll start getting serious soon. Everything is going well and I think we will be able to put together a good team also in the next season.I hope we can get some great satisfaction.
«Compared to the season just ended – explains the sports director – we will have two fewer athletes, going from eighteen to sixteen. There will be eight first-year juniors and eight new second-years.Qualitatively, it seems like a well-matched team to me."
Coming off an important result, with the victory in the team classification…
Yes, absolutely. We have been missing some important results in national and international races. However, all the boys, in general, behaved well and this certainly gives us a lot of satisfaction. At a certain point in the season the team classification became a goal, both for society and for children.
A thermometer of a positive season?
The level of the other teams we left behind was certainly high, just think about the fact of having beaten a reality like the Giorgi Brothers TeamWe took home a great satisfaction, but if I had to think of something to improve, I'd say it would be nice to raise the bar in the most important events.
You remain a team that travels a lot outside of Italy to race…
For us, doing a certain type of activity abroad is a goal. One thing we have definitely noticed is that the average level is rising a lot.International events are becoming important for the junior category, as they certainly represent a showcase for the future. Unfortunately, cycling is significantly lowering the age at which to look for talent..
Over the years you've seen different riders, has the youth movement changed much?
The boys are starting to realize that they have to be strong as juniors, some more than others. But now this is the category that acts as a watershedI remain convinced that each rider should follow his own path. Everyone wants to go to the I have to team up but you can also become a professional by following a parallel pathThere's no shortage of examples, one that stands out in my opinion is Fiorelli, who will race with Visma in 2026. His career path shows that hard work pays off.
You had a guy like that on your team Sambinello, the thought of I have to team up was it that ingrained in him too?
He was a boy with a significant competitive hunger, but he didn't have the thought of arriving in a I have to team up. It was the consequence of the results achieved in the two years as juniors. Other athletes of mine also had a competitive “hunger” but without the pressure of arriving. Now there is a greater ambition to get to those teamsI keep thinking that even my guys who have been in continental teams (for example Mecha e Toselli, ed.) can reach professionalism.
Next year, teams like Team Fratelli Giorgi and Aspiratori Otelli will be missing. What changes will that make?
Strange and not easy to digest. Comparing ourselves with certain realities helps the riders and us grow as a team.It would be wrong to think that without them the path would be easier, also because many kids risk being left without a teamIt's something I've already noticed this year.
Is it already that obvious?
Many of my riders struggled to find a place as under-23s, and ended up signing contracts in the winter. Something that honestly hadn't happened to us before. The risk is that with the closure of some teams and the race for talent, the funnel will already narrow to students, excluding many kids from this sport.
