GLASGOW – "Seventh at 21," said Matteo Bianchi after the standing kilometer final, "is a good result. Last year the participants were of a lower level, and I managed to secure second place in qualifying and fifth in the final. This year all the best are here: the difference in experience and maturity was evident., but reaching the final was a good goal and I achieved it. We're all very young, I'm the oldest and I'm not even 22 yet. Around me I see 27-28 year old athletes at the top of their careers, it's normal to see them in front. You take inspiration. What kind of warm-up they do or what kind of approach, even if you then rely on the trainers and follow their instructions. I'm also satisfied with aver the minute wall has been broken on a track that isn't as fast as Paris last year. All right, that's the right path."
The blue budget
Matteo Bianchi's seventh time in the standing kilometer is the emblem of the situation of the blue speed at Glasgow World CupAnd even if some at home might turn up their noses at these less-than-front-page results, asking sector manager Ivan Quaranta about them is an honest way to put the situation into perspective.
«This – he says – is a category superior to ours. We started from a group of young people who performed well at the European Championships, winning everything what could be wonThe kerin and the kilometer with Bianchi, we won the team sprint which is the equivalent of the team pursuit and therefore it was the most important specialty because it allows us to qualify an athlete for the Olympics. Every race we do, we improveHere we set the Italian record in the team sprint and we finished in eleventh place, less than a tenth behind eighth and finishing eighth meant qualifying for the Olympics, as the top eight trios go through. In short, our oldest athlete is Bianchi who is 21 years old…».
Did you expect more or are we in line with expectations?
Perhaps Miriam Vece he could have done something more in the 500 meters, but he had a moment of lack of concentration at the start and he lost 3 tenths on the starting blockOtherwise, she would have more or less done her time and could have aspired to a bronze medal. And then she did the Keirin, which, however, isn't the discipline best suited to her, because she's a bit afraid in sprints and she ran a time that in my opinion isn't in her range, because she does better in training in Montichiari.
In the male?
Bianchi seventh could be a good starting point. Predomo He has already qualified for the speed and consider that 30 riders from all over the world qualified here. So already Being in the world's top 30 at 19 is a great thingThis World Cup was meant to give him some experience. It will certainly bode well for the coming years. And in any case, we're not that far away. The times of the best athletes in this pre-Olympic World Championship are the same as they have been doing for the past 3-4 years. So they are stuck on the same times of excellence, while we are slowly getting closerThis is also an evaluation that needs to be made.
The bottom line is that you have to be patient?
Exactly. After this wave, we are behind it globally. We are the European and world junior champions in all disciplines. So if the history of sport is made of cycles, our time will soon come.
What can you say to those who would like to skip ahead?
It is known that by now Speed has become a skill where you progress in step with the weights you lift in the gymThe kids go to the gym and then the track, then the gym and then the track again. Sometimes they train on the streets, but mostly in the gym. It takes years to reach the point of lifting certain loads, even in weightlifting itself. Likewise, to be able to push certain ratios and go at certain speedsYou need years of work, which unfortunately you can't have put together if you're 18 or 19. It is necessary to accumulate a large volume of work and the time in which you can do it is subjective, but it must be planned.
So everyone has their own time and isn't it worth pushing to get there sooner?
They may even be able to get to certain loads sooner, but you'll damage them. For example, I knew Predomo when he squatted 100 kilos, now he squats 190 kilos.. Okay that Lavreysen At 26, he lifts 250, but from 100 to 190 is already quite a leap. They take risks, because they're young and pushing. The more you load, the more they push, but there are some things to do. progressive works to protect the athlete.
Tonight, Francesco Ceci is competing in the Paralympic tandem gold medal final. Why was he left out of the national team? Wouldn't an experienced athlete be useful alongside our young athletes?
I don't know what happened before me. When I arrived, unfortunately he was no longer there. I don't know what happened with the Fiamme Azzurre, before being included in the Federation, I didn't even follow the sector very much. I was the sporting director of Colpack, I followed it like a passionate, but I wasn't inside and I didn't know the dynamics of the group. Surely someone who has played for many years at a world level, at least would have experience and tactics to pass on, but it's not up to me to judge what has been done before.
If it were up to you, would you call him?
I think Francesco is out of this loop now. The rules require you to choose between Paralympic or able-bodied. But never say never. This year he showed up winning the Italian kilometer, he is not standing still and has achieved times that he rarely achieved before when he was active. He showed up in good shape, we have to give him credit for that.Now he's made this choice, I see he's enjoying it too. I've seen him give advice to everyone, I'm happy for him.
Italy of speed leaves Glasgow with Bianchi entered the final kilometer from a standing start and finished seventhPredomo immediately dropped out of the 200 meters. With Miriam Vece falling short of her potential in the 500 meters and the Italian Olympic sprint record. The road to Paris is still long, but we have just started againHoogland and Lavreysen are two gigantic gods, we challenged them with under 23s. How to compete in the Tour against Vingegaard and Pogacar with Amadori's Azzurrini. All in all, we think it went well.
