Mattia Agostinacchio's voice comes out of the phone low and deep, hiding his young age behind a confident and gentle tone. The youngest of the two brothers Aosta Valley resident is struggling with a slight flu that struck him shortly before the Paganessi TrophyOnce he returned home he took care of himself as best he could to be ready for the Grand Prix Ruebliland, a stage race for the junior category which takes place at the same time as the Tour of Lunigiana. His absence from the Race of Future Champions It is a forced choice due to the fact that the Aosta Valley will not field its own regional team at the start.
Beyond the Alps
So Mattia Agostinacchio is forced to cross the Alps and reach the German border to race and prepare for this final part of the season. The winter in cross has given us and made us aware of his talent, which has also ended up in the crosshairs of the squadrons. While spring and summer have emphasized his ability to ride fast even on road.
"We're leaving early tomorrow morning," Mattia Agostinacchio tells us. "The journey will be quite long; we're driving for four hours. If I'm ready, you'll see when I put the number on my back., on Sunday at Paganessi I was well but I already had some symptoms of the flu that have accompanied me in these last few days".
A fourth place that is worth something more then…
My legs were fine, I think I had a good response. In these last few months I have improved a bit in all aspectsMy brother Filippo still takes care of the preparations. It took me a few extra hours just to be able to increase the mileage during outings.
So are you ready for the final part of the season?
We'll see at Ruebliland, I'm not sure right now. I still have two days to fully recover before racing in Switzerland.
How sad are you about not running the Lunigiana?
A lot, I have to be honest. Ruebliland, in this edition, will be even tougher because in the three planned stages we will have a lot of climbingI would have preferred to go to Lunigiana because it has more variety within the various stages and then doing five days of racing allows you to put in a few more kilometers. It's also true that I will run another two days once I return to Italy: at the Pezzoli and Buffoni on September 13th and 14th.
With the World Cup and European Championships in sight, are you worried about running away from coach Salvoldi's eyes?
No, we've had a lot to talk about these past few weeks. We were also on retreat at Livigno with the national team from August 21st to 30thWe were a small group of five who went to prepare for our last commitments. We trained well for a week, but without overdoing it.
What do you mean?
We spent about 20 hours training, a little more. A good number, close to my average which is usually between 17 and 19 hours a week.I have rarely uploaded more and that's okay.
Have you already seen the World and European Championship courses?
Yes, in Kigali we will be around 120 kilometers with 1.400 meters of altitude difference but well distributed along the entire route. There will practically not be a single meter of plainWhile in France the vertical meters will be fewer but with two real climbs to tackle on each lap. Personally, I prefer a track like the one in the World Championship, so it's better to recover and go fast to earn one of the three available places.
