GLASGOW – There is perfect balance. Tandem athletes are two athletes who have to push together, swing together, believe together.One sees and therefore leads. The other doesn't see, so he trusts and pushes equally hard. It doesn't work that the faster the sprinter in front, the faster you go: if there is no understanding, we won't get very far. So when in the Glasgow Velodrome we are facing each other Stefano Meroni and Francesco Ceci (in the opening, photo SW Pix), the feeling is that of having a complete and strong crew in front of you, which compensates by breaking down the differences.
«The couple with this man from Ascoli – smiles Meroni, 35 years old from Lurago – It was formed quickly, almost in a laboratory, but it is giving great satisfactionFor it to work, you have to be aware of what you're doing, why you're doing it, and understand the importance and beauty of this sport. At that point, The legs automatically tune in. Personal connection must become physical connection. I have to feel what's happening through the pedals, what Francesco is about to do with every movement he makes. At the same time, he feels how I move. We have to understand, read each other and learn to read everything the other's body does».
Ceci's Guide
There is no recipe to say how long it takes for this exclusive alchemy to be born. The two Azzurri, led by Silvano Perusini, have been working together since January, so if on the one hand the time results and the medal obtained in these world championships are a real injection of confidence, on the other They know very well that they still have a lot of work to do to reach the Olympic goal.
«These races are really hectic – continues Meroni – they are nervous and I think that Francesco can also confirm that we did everything he had in mind. I think I managed to follow him and indulge him.Francesco is not good, Francesco is the best, they are two different things…».
Without words
Ceci listens and smiles, her pride rising to the surface. The words of Ivan Quaranta in recent days they confirmed that His performance level and experience would still be useful to the Italian team, but now this is his track and he claims it with pride.
«The first day we entered the track – he smiles with a hint of irony – there were the sprint team races of the Quaranta boys and Perusini asked me how much I wanted to get on the track with them too.He knows me and understands me, but I understand that even this way we can have our chance. This World Cup is the starting point, we suddenly found ourselves having to learn everything from scratch.
«In the first heat I had some driving difficulties. Then we made some technical changes and in the last tests I saw a complete harmonyWe understood each other so well that only once did I have to yell for him to go full speed ahead, and I'm not even sure he heard me. I see other couples talking a lot more».
Two employees
We have spoken about Ceci and of his work as a Penitentiary Police officer, since the Fiamme Azzurre removed him from the sports team. We know decidedly less about Meroni, apart from the good humor he conveys with his smile and enthusiasm.
"I am a local tax official – he explains – and luckily, thanks to my colleagues and the shift work, I have a lot of time to train. So I can make my two parallel lives coexist peacefullyWe are more or less in the same position, even at work. We are two shy employees, who then go on the dance floor and transform…».
Objective Paris
Indeed Ceci has already smelled the prey and is strongly aiming for the possibility of reaching the Paralympics, involved by Silvano Perusini in this track project which in a few days has brought Italy an interesting harvest of results, starting from the Claudia Cretti's medals.
«It can only improve – he says – also considering that I started training again in January and we saw each other for the first time in February.The first time we used his tandem, then we changed everything and We had all the new materials available right here. Race after race we realize that the affinity grows. What we have done here is the bare minimum, not so much in speed, but in the kilometer from a standing start. We realized that we lost in the first lap the two seconds that separate us from the silver medal and at least a second and a half in the first half lap. So we know where to work, considering that in the final lap we gained almost half a second on the first three tandems."
The silver medal
On the last night of competition, Italy's tandem team won silver in the team sprint, in which the two couples – female (Elena Bissolati and Chiara Colombo) and the men's (Ceci and Meroni themselves) – start together, and when the women move on, it's up to the men to make the final laps and stop time. We were pitted against the British, and in the end we had to give in.
"I'm very satisfied," said Chiara Colombo at the world premiere, "truly, very much so. I didn't expect such a result in such a short time. We started working together two and a half months agoWe fought for the gold, which was certainly not a second chance. I hope it was the first of many opportunities, from here we can only grow and maybe one day we too will get that gold medal».
