The blue expedition has returned from Junior World Track Championships in Luoyang, finishing third in the medal table. Eleven total podium appearances (tied with Great Britain, which boasts the most gold medals) can be contextualized in two different ways, taking into account the number of medals won.
If the boys lived up to expectations, where the quartet's world record stands out above all, the girls must see the glass half full. The six bronze medals they won don't necessarily represent a step backwards from their triumphs a year ago in Colombia, although a little more could have been expected in some disciplines. Just as we had done before the trip to China, we wanted to hear again Fabio Masotti, technical assistant of the city Villa, to have an assessment of the women's results.
Fabio, how do you rate the Chinese girls' competition?
We set out knowing we couldn't do as well as the boys. They did really well, but I have no complaints about the girls. It's true, some of the six bronzes could have been silver and even gold, but they weren't easy World Championships.They partly paid for their inexperience and partly for their bad luck. Furthermore, based on their track times, this year the level was much higher.
Which medals do you have the most regrets about?
Definitely that of the quartet, which we had prepared very well. Unfortunately, in qualifying, Sgaravato had a cleat come off the pedal right at the start, So the teammates wasted some time regrouping immediately. Despite that, they made it to the third half. Unfortunately for us, Great Britain also had a similar problem and, with only three of them on the track, they made it to the second half. So We found ourselves in the semifinals and we knew it was out of reach for us. For everyone, to be honest.. In fact they won the gold with a world record thanks to athletes like Ferguson and Lloyd, already taken by Movistar for the next few years. If we had found France, we could have played it since we had similar times and maybe we would have reached the final with the British.
Is there another bronze that could have shone brighter?
In the elimination Baima He could have repeated last year's gold and the European one in July, but even in this case luck didn't smile on him. The race started an hour and a half later than originally scheduled. due to a series of delays in previous trips. It was an odyssey, it was a race that lasted almost forty minutes overall. The athletes fell at almost every lap and further delays accumulated. Then when there were four of them left the photo finish didn't work and so they had to neutralize the raceWith all this back and forth, Anita felt disoriented.
Could the situation have been handled better?
We can only adapt to the chaos that's created. From below, we were shouting at her what to do, but once you're inside and you're driving, it's a whole different story, especially in a similar context. It was a race that completely disrupted the values on the track. Anita is one who makes the difference in terms of resistance, when the others feel tired, but if the race is interrupted before the last sprints, the less strong athletes can recover.And they can probably make better use of their speed in the final sprints. It's a shame because that could have been a gold medal, but with ifs and buts, there's not much you can do.
In the other tests instead?
In Madison, Baima and Sanarini misjudged a situation and lost their way in the final laps. However, this was a mistake that could happen.As I said before, from the outside you can see how the race is going, but on the track it can be more difficult. They could have won a silver medal too. On the other hand We are happy with Pegolo's bronze in the scratch, a versatile girlWe entered her in the team sprint at the last minute, only doing a couple of trials before competing. And she finished a nice third place. The other two girls, Trevisan and Cenci, were very good, and Cenci also took a good bronze in the keirin..
What did you pack for these girls back from the World Cup?
We never tire of repeating it. The junior category is one in which the players change every two years and consequently it is necessary to optimize a cyclical workAll things considered, these were six bronze medals, which is quite satisfying compared to last year, when we were almost certain of winning. The girls have understood this and know that they have room for improvement, at least the first year ones. who will be with us in 2025 as well. In February of next year, we'll resume training camps and recruiting new athletes. In the meantime, we'll try to understand, through club reports, research from the Study Center, and on-track testing, which of the best young athletes will advance to the junior ranks.
