Manuel Oioli is almost finding Manuel Oioli, the athlete who, on the Fosdinovo climb in Lunigiana in 2021, smashed the previous record of a certain Tadej Pogacar. Nine of them succeeded., to tell the truth, opening the door to the acceleration of youth cycling compared to the recent times of the Slovenian phenomenon. Since then Olioli moved to the Fundacion Contador as an under 23 and then he left, arriving last year at the Q36.5And if the start of the season has not been the most exciting, The results of the last month highlight a clear change of directionThe victories of the Coppa Medicea and the Trofeo Città di Brescia (in the opening, photo Team Q36,5), combined with the podiums of Poggiana and Capodarco, they propose him among the reference U23s of the momentFor this reason, coach Amadori has included him in the list of those who could race in the European Championships, while perhaps the World Championships route could be too tough.
«I can't complain about how things have been going in the last month and a half – he explains – but this doesn't mean I can rest easyI'm not even a professional, so I want to improve even more. I'm going strong but I'm aware that in professionalism these performances would be nothing. So I'm not yet the Manuel I would like, but I can say that at the start of the season I hoped to arrive in August in exactly this condition."
Are you going strong in August because it's your season?
Historically I've always been going strong in these months, more than in the first part of the season, so I was kind of expecting it. I can't complain about the preparation or anything else, I haven't had any setbacks, it's just that I've been going strong since July.
You're not a professional yet: is that your goal this year?
Yes, really yes. I said at the beginning of the season that I wanted to move this year2023 ended well with success at the Del Rosso Trophy, but honestly this year until the first victory, so until Brescia, I was aware that I hadn't done enough. After two victories and two podiums in such important races, I think I have gained consistencyMy plan A would be to turn pro at Q36,5 and I hope they take me. The problem is I don't know how many places they have for next year, so not much is known yet, even if there has been some interest.
How much and in what ways is this year's Manuel stronger than the 2023 one?
If I look at all three years as an under, year after year, what is most noticeable is the resistanceI'm not talking about the climb, because I've seen that in a race like the Florence-Viareggio I don't yet have the numbers of the strongest. But on the endurance side... In a race like Capodarco, with eight tough laps where the difference is made in the last two or three, I saw myself improved a lotLast year I never would have thought I'd be playing for the win in a race like that.
Why?
I started with some doubts. I knew I was doing well, because in Poggiana I had been strong even on the climbs, but Capodarco is toughI set off, and I saw I was struggling in the first few laps, but I was there. I usually get going as the kilometers go by, so I told myself that maybe I could make it to the finish. Even when I was struggling the most, I kept going. I always tried to come back using intelligence on the downhill and on the flatAnd then in the last 3-4 laps, I saw that my legs were among the best and I thought I could play it out. I chose a somewhat wait-and-see tactic that didn't pay off, because D'Aiuto and the Slovakian boy left.I made that decision and finished third, but I was at their level and that's important.
Why is Capodarco tough, given that you're one of those who broke Pogacar's famous record in Fosdinovo?
Given that Every race is different and it would be wrong to make comparisonsI see that the juniors are going even faster now. I looked at the times of the Collegno-Sestriere, where I finished second, just like Ivan Basso's son did this year. Looking at the times on Strava, his are all lower than mine. In general, but in the juniors in particular, the level is always rising. Surely when Pogacar played for Lungiana, the juniors were much more similar to the students than to the under 23s. Instead Now their preparation is very similar to that of the adults. I found myself in a transition phase. Those were the years when some people went straight to professionalism, but it was still a strange thing.They still said that there was only one Evenepoel, so anyone who passed early was a sort of pioneer. I think that if I had won two stages at Lunigiana today and then finished in the top 10 at the European Championships, I probably would have moved straight into a WorldTour.
Do you regret anything along your path?
No, because I I had already given Aeolus has his say and I wouldn't have liked to go back. It's not even a given that immediately switching to professionals is the best thing. The regret, if anything, is that I could have improved earlier, by training a little differently from the first and second year of U23., but better to have done it now than never.
Even though you're on a dedicated team, you only had a few days racing with the pros. Why?
I think I'll make a couple more by the end of the season. In the team there is a different management of the interns, for us there is no planning and rightly soIn the end, the professional riders have priority and if there are gaps, one of us goes there.
You didn't do the Giro Next Gen with the team, for mysterious reasons, but you did it with the national team. Would anything have changed by going with Q36,5?
In terms of performance, in my opinion no, because objectively I wasn't in top formAnd in a race like the Giro, with such a high level, if you're not at the top you struggle. I was disappointed more than anything because throughout the year the staff worked hard for us and in the end the most important race was not held. Precisely for this I have to thank our sports director Nieri, who pushed for me to race with the national team.
Are there any events by the end of the season where we can showcase the best Oioli?
Let's see if I'll be at the European Championships, then the events I care about most are the Giro del Friuli and the Ruota d'OroAnd we'll see if by the end of the season I've managed to find the best Oioli and if this will bring me into the group of the older ones.
