If last year the start of the season of Mattia Negrente had been encouraging, this 2025 has started even better for the nineteen year old I have to team up of XDS AstanaLast year he had taken third place in the Visit South Aegean Islands, in Greece, this time he did even better with the second place but also with a stage victory. But overall It's his whole run that has caused a lot of sensation, as if in his case too a real evolution was underway, like other riders of the Kazakh “mother team”.
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This time, however, the Veronese had already had the opportunity to break the ice by taking part in the 4 Mallorca races in the ranks of the WT team, working for his teammates, but evidently that work had a positive influence.
«I immediately felt that my leg was working well – he says from Rhodes where he will return to compete on Saturday – I had good sensations, but The positive aspect of the race was also that on the first stage's route, which was full of ups and downs, the team ran really well. They allowed me to save a lot of energy. I was right behind them, and that strength came in handy when we rejoined the breakaway with about thirty kilometers to go. On the final climb, my teammates helped me close an important gap and put me in a good position for the final sprint. They're part of the victory, too."
In the end, however, you lost to Dane Hansen in the overall standings despite being tied for the same time. How disappointed were you?
Hugely, a few swear words came out of me when I heard about it… It's like losing by half a millimeter and you're there wondering where you could have gained, recovered, if you made some mistakes... It certainly wasn't a WorldTour race, but it's always a shame, because a victory would have been useful. There were probably a lot of us in the second stage and I lost a few positions, having to start so early. We finished with Mellano fourth and I fifth. Hansen He was ahead, and we could have easily beaten him. But as a team, we did well, even winning the team classification, so overall, we can't complain.
The feeling is that we are faced with a different Negrente than last year...
The winter was definitely very productive; we worked a lot with the new staff. Overall, there aren't many differences. I was with them last year and I must say that I immediately saw a first-rate organization.What I really appreciate is that they don't put pressure on us. Clearly, our situation is different from that of the main team, where we have to deal with the rankings.
But you also "tasted" the main activity, did you find any changes?
Let's say that we of the I have to team up Let's take a little inspiration, because you can see how they manage to run as a team. For us they are a stimulus and so we try to replicate that harmony. Furthermore, it is not a small thing that almost half of the team is Italian, so a good group has been formed, but not only with us, also with the Russians, the Kazakhs, the Danish Wang.
Is it also a question of language? It's often said that a major obstacle for many who go abroad is overcoming communication...
This is an interesting topic. We mainly speak English because nowadays in cycling if you don't know it you're really in trouble.. It's clear that in our group we can understand each other more quickly with Italian, but it must be said that many of the staff can speak it. The masseur is Italian, the mechanic is Russian but speaks almost better Italian than EnglishMeetings are always held in English, however; this is a basic rule.
You had achieved good results last year too, are you still left with some regrets for being in the development?
Absolutely not, I'm convinced it would have been too soon. I promised myself that I needed at least a couple of years among the Under 23s, to learn, to understand well and in fact I see that already compared to 2024 the difference from this point is there, but I still feel like a work in progress. We'll see how things go this year, but if they ultimately tell me I need another season with the team, I'll gladly accept.
Will you have another chance to race with the main team?
Certainly, as I already did in Spain and as I did last year. For example, I will go to the Coppi and Bartali Week where I will be at the service of whoever is chosen as leaderThen, from April to June, we'll have a lot of category activity, and I really hope to pull off something good there. I don't have any specific goals; there's no one race I like more than others. I just want to get my shot when the opportunity arises to get closer and closer to that great end-of-season goal...
