The victory at Tour of Romania It's just the latest chapter of the beautiful summer of Cesare Chesini, the very young rider from Negrar who is bringing a good number of points to the MBH Bank Ballan. An important contribution to the team about to become professional. The Venetian had already made a name for himself in July by winning the Vysegrad road classic, but victory in the Romanian stage race certainly opens up different prospects.
The trend of these hot months also has a particular meaning for him because the season certainly hadn't started as he would have liked: «I had already started the winter with the idea of doing well in the international competitions in April, but in the end the results were poor.Then we prepared for the Giro NextGen by going to high altitude, where I got sick and lost 10 days. I didn't do badly in the Giro d'Italia, I even finished 5th, but I didn't finish as well as I would have liked."
But after that you kept going from strength to strength…
The condition built at the Giro was useful for the aftermathI achieved good results, I won in Vysegrad and accumulated kilometres in Valle d'Aosta, I did well in some Italian classics such as Capodarco, up until the Romanian feat.
What kind of race was this Tour of Romania?
For me it was a bit of a rush to discover, because I had never been there. I had seen the stages on the computer and I had noticed that the second one was challenging and interesting, so we decided to build a tactic with the team. I and I had gone Novak to do well in the standings, which was decided right at the second stage, from then on we would see how we had done and decide which of the two was aiming for the target.
Your victory in the second half was crucial, then you ran in defense in the last three…
Yes, then I defended myself with the help of my teammates. But they were also invaluable in the decisive stage. On the final climb, there was a breakaway of about ten riders, but they didn't have much of an advantage. We knew we would catch them on the climb and as soon as the gradients got higher we started to set a good pace.A natural selection emerged, the strongest remained at the front and then in the end we were three in the sprint.
You'd already won in Vysegrad in July, and you seem to be doing well, especially in competitions abroad. Why?
I can't explain it, I can't give myself a reason. Let's say that there is another way of running that is not done in Italy, less controlled and more diluted along the entire length of the fraction.. Maybe I'm more suited to that way of running.
Your rapid growth this summer has already led to your reconfirmation for next year, when the team becomes a professional team, so everything changes a bit, even the calendar changes...
Yes, the team is working to move up a category. The calendar will change, the objectives will change, even if we will always take into consideration the international under 23 races, since I still fall into that category.
But you're entering a new world having proven yourself a winner, so will there also be opportunities to seek the big result at a higher level than this year?
The important thing in the meantime will be have as many opportunities as possible to compete with the bigger ones while still having a lot to learnThat will be my main goal. Then, wherever I have the opportunity to run, or certainly in the international under-23 trials, I'll race with the goal of achieving the best possible result.
You're in your first year at MBH Bank. What have you learned about yourself this season? What kind of rider can you be?
Before I thought I was better on long climbs, but this year I saw in Vysegrad and Romania that I'm better on hard routes, but without very long climbs. Because I can manage my strength better and be able to have my say in a tight sprint.
What are your next goals for this season?
I'd like to make the most of the good condition I built over the summer. There's about a month left until the end of the season, and I'd like to aim for some results in the remaining events, starting with the Milan-Rapallo and the Piccolo Lombardia. Then I hope to have some opportunities to race against professionals in the latest Italian classics.
