Since Alessandro Ballan and Enrico Bonsembiante they decided to invest time and resources in it, la UC Giorgione 1908 she definitely took the lead in the group of studentsWe have told you about the project and, more recently, the 2008 Varese world champion had the opportunity to explain it on the occasion of the award ceremony of the Italian Regions' Cup a Roma.
«I did it for to repay the team where I started running – he said, drawing applause from those present – while the choice to focus on a female team depended on the desire to offer girls the same opportunities as boys. Even intervening to organize a race at a time of the season when there would have been few of them."
One year
At the end of the second year of activity, We asked Ballan himself what he thought of his team's seasonAnd the very tall Venetian champion responded with a warmth and passion that showed how much he truly cares about the project.
"The season was positive," she told us. "We had 15 girls and it was a great satisfaction to give them the opportunity to do a high-level activity, trying to stand out from the crowd. In the sense that Unfortunately, in youth cycling there are still the faces from when I was youngHaving a young team, where the sporting directors have an excellent relationship with the girls, because there's not a huge age difference, is truly unique. And we're also happy with the results. We have brought home victories, not only on the road but also on the track. So without a doubt the second season went much better than last year, which means we are clearly growing."
Giorgione's results came thanks to a win and six second-place finishes for Maddalena Pascut (opening photo). Sara Enzo also took a win. Bianca Luisotto, Samira Sartoretto, and Ilaria Sbrissa also achieved good placings.
The girls should answer, but do you think they really felt so comfortable in the atmosphere you described?
They got along very well, so much so that We have had a lot of requests for 2026. This really shows that the team's image is something different from what's around today. We try to take as many athletes as we can, but We made the team to please the girls around home, so in Castelfranco VenetoHowever, it's also logical that there isn't much turnout yet, so we're forced to leave the municipality and, above all, sometimes even the province of Treviso.
How do you choose girls for UC Giorgione?
We make the choice based on the girl, also based on the parents. Many times they are also technical choices, not thrown in at random. Sometimes we also get around by talking to the girls who are already on the team, because there's nothing better than the perspective of a rider in the group on their opponents or potential teammates.
Are there the same issues in women's cycling as in youth cycling for men, namely the great difficulty in finding a team as you grow?
Yes, the same issues. We've received more requests than we can handle. There are fewer and fewer teams and, above all, there are fewer competitions. In fact, this year we also started to organize our own Pink Triptych of the Treviso Marches to give them the opportunity in August, when there were no races, to have a busy weekend to run them.
What is Alessandro Ballan's signature in this team?
I think that currently my skill is to find sponsorsWe know full well that it has become a very expensive sport and to do it well you need supporters who are increasingly scarce year after year. The fact that I won the world championship and that I show up inside a company to ask for sponsorship, it's an argument that still works well. I can't deny it.
