You have read the interview with Dario Cioni of this morning announcing Christmas, in which the Tuscan coach of Ineos Grenadiers talks about the criteria with which it will be managed the newly formed Racing AcademyThe paragraph from which we start this reasoning is precisely the last one.
"We won't be using the bus," says Cioni, speaking of the team, made up of 12 athletes, "but mainly the camper. In terms of coaching and nutrition they will have support, but not at the level of the WorldTour ridersThe materials will be the same as the brands, but at a slightly lower level. Earning WorldTour status with the associated benefits is part of development».
Humility and rules to be respected
It's an honest reasoning, based on a basic consideration as old as cycling itself: If you give him everything right away, how will moving up a category feel like a real promotion? And how do you make them understand that the road to becoming a true rider is longer than they imagine? Even a child prodigy needs to learn the ropes. And in the apprenticeship there must be humility and rules to be respected. If a kid gets to be under 23 and thinks he can write whatever he wants, maybe something's wrong.
Not even Pogacar at 19 years old He dared to do things his own way and he doesn't do it now, even though his results could authorize him to raise his head. The riders who break through are in fact those who have based their career on humility and the rules to be respected.
Before we even start
This is why, in these days of presents under the Christmas tree, the story of a boy who had just left the juniors who, before even starting, asked for something to think about the termination of the contract with the team he had chosen for his debut. Being abroad to train in the heat, the boy refused to answer the call for a retreat in Italy, saying he had already a well-established training program. The program, however, was not drawn up by the new team's coach.
It seems that among the reasons that led to the termination of the contract there were also the company's harsher tone in the face of unexpected behaviors and a not perfect harmony on the 2026 calendar, which the team would have proposed to compose based on the state of form, without offering guarantees of participation.
Three causes, time will tell…
Certain frictions can have very different causes. The first hypothesis, wanting to give the boy and his family the benefit of the doubt, is that the team has failed to keep its promisesThe second is that a team of superior caliber has emerged and a reason was needed to free himself. The third is that the boy was granted everything immediately and that, faced with the new growth project, he or whoever advised him thought he deserved more.
While we wait to see how it all ends, we're left with some doubts and the feeling of a misstep. We wonder if bringing him onto this terrain at just 18 years old, whoever is responsible, was a mistake. the support the boy neededBut time is a gentleman; we'll certainly know more as the miles pass. In the meantime, let's take note of Cioni's words and wish everyone a peaceful Christmas.
The opening photo of depositphotos.com depicts Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi.
