And then there is Davide Piganzoli who quietly grows and also scores important victories. The Valtellina native is maturing well in the Contador Foundation, which would then be the under 23 team of the Eolo-Kometa di Ivan Basso and Alberto Contador.
The Spanish team has clear ideas about the evolution of the boys and the very fact that they have decided not to go too high before the Giro d'Italia U23 It says a lot about the future outlook and the margins left to the riders. Basso believes a lot in this athlete. And he's following it just like he did (and does) with Fortunato.
But let's go back to Piganzoli. We saw him doing well last year at Campo Moro, the hardest arrival of the U23 Giro, we then caught him in difficulty at the Val d'Aosta and we found him on the launch pad this year, up to winning the Bidasoa Itzulia, the U23 Tour of the Basque Country.
Davide, you won the Vuelta Bidasoa, which is essentially the U23 Tour of the Basque Country. It's starting to become an important race...
Yes, he won it four years ago. Juan Pedro Lopez, The guy who took the pink jersey on Etna. He also came from the Contador Foundation, by the way. I didn't expect to do so well, much less win, because I knew I was fine, but also that I was in a loading phase. I'd worked hard on the bottom. In short, I wasn't 100 percent. But they say that when you're not at your best, you have nothing to lose.
And how did it go?
In the first stage, which wasn't for us, given that the finish was on a mile-and-a-half climb that we struggle with, we stayed ahead. In the second, on a tense course, we tried to make some progress, but the leader didn't miss a beat. And in the third stage, on the final climb, at a certain point, the leader dropped away. And so did we. But then he went into a real crisis. And so we recovered a bit. On the slight slope we accelerated. And on the way down we attacked. We pulled away and gained the margin we needed to win.
You keep talking in the plural…
Yes, I'm referring to my partner. Fernando Tercero. As mentioned, we had nothing to lose and in these cases do you skip it altogether or do something really good?We said to ourselves: let's try to attack, at worst they'll take us away.
And now the goal is the Giro d'Italia?
Absolutely. We're growing and working to do our best at the Giro. I won't be going to high altitude this year; it might be a little early. The working method we are using is two weeks of loading and one week of unloading. And the loading ones also include the races.
You ride a lot in Spain, what are the differences between it and our cycling?
If we're talking about the plains, the level is slightly lower. And there's also less nervousness. And in fact, even Taking the climbs ahead is less complicated. Then for us at the Contador Foundation, if we want, it's even easier, because we're the flagship team in Spain and somehow we have more power in the group. But on the climbs... The pace is higher and I'm a bit ahead. It's no coincidence that those who go fast on the climbs in Spain are also ahead among the pros. For example, Igor Arrieta in his first year he was with the best in climbing the Tour of the Alps.
What can and should Piganzoli improve on? In terms of consistency? For example, last year in Val d'Aosta, after a great Giro, you were struggling a bit...
True, but that first stage was really a bad day for me. I'd had intestinal problems, and so I withdrew. I don't think I'm lacking in consistency anymore. Since the beginning of the year, except once, I have never left the top twenty and in international races I have finished in frontIf anything, I need to improve my sprinting. I'm talking about the tight-packed ones. I need to be more collected, push harder...
Okay, but you're still a climber: you can certainly, and must, improve certain skills, but there are physiological limits. What about the "punch" on the attack? How does that go with those 20-30 second bursts of power?
Here, on this aspect I improved because I worked on it a lot. Over the winter, I did a lot of on-off training, and I'm less affected by it during the race. I struggle less with certain sprints.
Davide, you're from Sondrio, the U23 Giro passes through your area again this year. Did you go to see the Mortirolo, or rather, the Guspessa?
Yes, I went there just a few days ago. I drove a little closer. First I went up to Aprica. From there I turned around, I went down the hill and did this side of the Mortirolo. I then continued to Santa Caterina Valfurva and cycled back. Quite a distance!
And what did you think of this Guspessa pass?
Very hard and long, as I expected. It's a climb that never flattens out, which it will last about 40 minutes. Even if it is far from the finish line, I believe the selection will take place there.
Last question: will you be doing some tastings with the "big boys" of Eolo-Kometa?
It is still to be evaluated, but From August onwards I should do some races as an intern.
