PESARO – We have already spoken about the Evening of Great Cycling in Monday's editorial, speaking of the Garofoli's claim in favor of the Italian ridersHowever, the evening organized by Maurizio Radi and Giacomo Rossi also saw the participation on stage some of the best talents from the Marche region and among these we could not miss the Petrucci Zero24 Cycling Team students, the brand of the Chiaravallese Pedal. We have talked about them over and over again, when no one could imagine that Alberto Puerini's team would have been the dominant team of the season.
Nine successes with Tommasi Cingolani, including the Italian online championship and on time. You are with Edward Fiorini. Five with Philip Cingolani. Ten with Andrea Gabriele Alessiani and among these the Gran Premio della Liberazione in Rome, the Giro delle Tre Province in Emilia and the Giro dei Cinque Laghi in Veneto. They are numbers to be taken with a pinch of salt, we are always talking about studentsAnd it's good to realize that their sporting director Puerini has the same awareness.
«When we were kids – Puerini recalls – we went running in Romagna, you could already see the differenceYou went running in Tuscany and you didn't even show up, because it was a completely different pace. They lowered the flag, you raised your head and you couldn't understand how many were in front of you. and the race was over. Imagine in Veneto, what did you want to do? This year we went to the North and we heard the other teams say that they were fighting for second place, because we were thereFor me, it's a great revenge. Before, when a man from the Marche won outside the region, he was a champion. This year we went often and won some of the most important races."
2024 was already positive, what has changed this year?
Many first-year players have grown and improved, and the results have come thanks to their growth. Since the beginning of last year, they had entered the junior category with a good mentality. After a month and a half of racing, they had stopped running to do well, but they started to win, closing the season with the Italian team time trial title: the icing on the cake. This year we continued. We started off at full speed and won the first two races., the Sundays we haven't won can be counted on the fingers of two hands.
You look at them and you don't think they're students, they're much older than they were ten years ago...
After Covid there was a huge acceleration. The mentality they have now, perhaps not even the juniors had before.There are still some kids who still have to learn and are struggling, but in my opinion working a lot in the gym, which was not done before, also benefits growthThey are physically structured and mentally they are more focused, they have an extra gear than we had.
Perhaps this is precisely why we need to be careful not to overdo the workload?
We must distinguish between boy and boy. You have to wait for those who are still behind in maturation, you can't overdo itYou have to give it recovery time, pay close attention to the growth phases. As the body develops, you can't stress it, because it needs physical and mental energy precisely to grow, so you have to take it easy. New methodologies help a lot with this. You can monitor your workouts, strength, and frequency. The potentiometer, which at first seemed like something out of the ordinary, in my opinion helps a lot in preserving the kids: in fact you can't make any more mistakes.On the other hand, you mustn't be… hungry. You have to think about the well-being of the kids, not about winning as many races as possible. You have to help them grow, especially mentally. Because physically, they grow on their own, according to nature.
Is the sporting director also a psychologist?
Quite a lot of. You have to try to understand them, know when it's time for the stick and when for the carrot.And when they trust you, they start to confide in you as if you were an older brother or a second father. They tell you lots of things about school, maybe when they got a bad grade and I have to push them to share it at home too.
Parents, often the sore point: what kind of relationship do you have with them?
The first thing is that they have to trust, because then it's done. They leave their child with you and you have no problems. But it's tough, it's the most difficult part of being a sporting director.You have to make them understand that you want the best for their child, but that you consider them all equal. It's not always easy, because there's always that one with a snobbish nose who says you don't think enough of his son or you don't do enough.
How do you do it?
It's not easy, let's take the two Cingolani. Their father Francesco I took him racing when he was a rookie, he trusts me, but he's also someone who knows cycling well. The Cingolani, even grandfather Amos, are very demandingThey want things done well, but it happened that I told them: «Remember that sometimes your children still go to play and make huts by the river». They are still kids and you can't always consider them professionals, while they are very professional and pay attention to detail. It's easier to deal with a parent who knows nothing about cycling and trusts, without ever interfering. If you do something wrong, or something doesn't go right, Francesco notices it immediately and lets us know.You must never let your guard down.
Do you feel like there's a bit of a revival in cycling in the Marche region?
Something is moving, but in my opinion more can be done. We need to work on youth development, on young riders, on cycling schools. We need to convey the passion and the fun.And there's also a lot of work to do with young people, because unfortunately cycling is accelerating and many kids are quitting too early. New technicians are also needed, who are prepared and speak their own language.
What do you mean?
I look in our house and Lancioni, who was born in 2004 and studies Sports Science, helps me with my preparation.Tommaso Fiorini, Edoardo's brother, will be the sports director for the rookies next year. There's another boy born in 2008 who's been training with us since that year, even though he's stopped running. He rides his bike with them and keeps them in line because he's a little older. And then there's another one born in 2006 who wants to come with us every Sunday to be a chaperone, even just to give out water bottles. We need to invest in these guys, because There are still the sports directors around from when I was a studentThey have passion, but they live in the cycling of the 80s and 90s.
Have you been tempted to bring this group to the junior ranks?
Someone proposed it to us, but we wouldn't be able to do itWe tried with Mario Austero, but besides being very expensive, in my opinion we're not ready for that kind of cycling. We need to be well structured. If you have Fiorini, Cingolani and Alessiani, who went to Pool Cantù, you can't have them run only in Abruzzo, Lazio or EmiliaCertain experiences need to be gained, you have to go and do stage races, which are quite expensive. We prefer to work well among the students, which is even more important these days.
Why?
Why you have to be good at building the boys especially on a mental and maturity level, of awareness of the choices and sacrifices they will have to make. They must understand that there's school, then there's cycling, and only then comes everything else. If you're passionate, things come easily; otherwise, it's easy to give up. And we can't afford to lose the best talent.
