The interview with Francesco Lamon leaving for the track world championships starts from… Filippo GannaThe time trial world champion certainly hadn't taken it easy the day after the conclusion of the European Track Championships: «If someone deserves to stay at home, let them stay at home – he had declared to La Gazzetta dello Sport - To confirm your position at the World Cup, you have to work hard and perhaps have respect for those who run from January to November. So... if they have to play, let them play.But in my quartet, in the Italian quartet… no slackers. I don't want to be mean, but what's right is right. You have to have respect for those who work their asses off all year round. You don't go to events of that level."
Words that, on the eve of the resumption of group training at the Montichiari velodrome, called into question his fellow adventurers. Considering that Milan In Grenchen, he only took part in the unfortunate semifinal of the quartet. The one who was always present, both in Tokyo and in Switzerland, was Lamon, a sort of link between the Piedmontese and the others: "The problem was exaggerated more than it should have been. In Montichiari, we immediately cleared things up. We would have preferred that Filippo had told us those things in the locker room, as they say in football, but in essence he also had his reasons for pulling the others' earsHe's the captain, he cares a lot about the group. We cleared everything up right away, without any hard feelings."
What happened in Grenchen?
We were unlucky. We gave it our all and the times we achieved were in line with expectations, considering that Bertazzo he hadn't competed for a while, Moro he was new to the group, me and Scartezzini We held firm. In the semifinals, we lost by a tenth and ended up outside the medal round. The conditions were there, however: I was in the fight for silver in the omnium until 8 laps from the end of the points race. The period in Montichiari served to rediscover brilliance.
Without Ganna and Milan, how much does the quartet change from a technical standpoint?
A lot. At first I always do two and a quarter turns to throw it, but then, Since Ganna is not there, the others' turns are shorter which means that I find myself shooting earlier and therefore I have been able to recover less and this also applies to the others. Replacing even a single piece of a complicated mechanism like the quartet cannot fail to have consequences.
Isn't there a risk that the victory in Tokyo will weigh on your shoulders like a millstone?
No, absolutely not, Tokyo is a starting point and not an arrival point. We are fully confident in our abilities, ever since the Roubaix challenge. (where the World Cup is about to start, ed.). We worked hard, we didn't rest on our laurels because that new, rainbow-colored jersey is tempting, and seeing Ganna wear it makes us want to imitate him even more.
What did the Europeans in Grenchen say in light of the World Cup?
It's difficult to say, because many national teams will be making debuts for some young players in view of Paris 2024. We know everything about Denmark, they won the European Championship and they have a grudge against us, but Switzerland, who came in second, also impressed me.Great Britain also performed strongly. Add Australia and New Zealand to the mix, and the podium contenders become numerous.
Given the period, should we expect higher times than in Tokyo?
More than the time, the track will be very different. The Tokyo track, in terms of both the terrain and the environment, was ideal. The Roubaix one is new and it's not very smooth. We know it well, we held the pre-World Cup training camp there for the 2019 World Cup in Poland. However, it must be considered that at the World Cup everyone gives 110 percent and many improve.
Let's return to a topic already addressed immediately after the Tokyo game: do you think there will be other young players joining Milan as captain between now and Paris?
I think so, in our wake, great talents are growing. Look. Woodcutter, who has similar technical characteristics to mine and could replace me as a launch man, or Moro who is a great pacer who just needs to mature, without forgetting the junior world champion Samuele Bonetto. I say that a group is being formed that will last for several Olympic cycles.
What program will you follow in Roubaix?
In addition to the quartet, I am Boscaro's reserve in the kilometer from standstill, which according to the program coincides with the team competition, so I will focus all my energy on that.
Are you optimistic?
Yes, we are working at full speed and I feel the right atmosphere, the same as our previous ventures. I have to say thank you to the Fiamme Azzurre and to the Superior Inspector Augusto Onori who gave me the maximum support. Even after Tokyo, to aim for this other big event. We know people have high expectations, but this shouldn't intimidate us; on the contrary, it's an added incentive.
