We're almost there. Ganna is in great spirits. He wouldn't even talk about the Hour record, he jokes, but we're there to ask him questions and he doesn't hide.It tells a story. It delves as deeply as it can. It engages. But above all, it never loses its great concreteness.
“If things go well but not very well,” he smiles, “the record will end up among the important victories. If it goes very well, then I will feel closer to the cycling greats who have achieved it, like MoserAnd if it goes badly, I will have been another Italian who tried 40 years later. But the Olympics remain the high point of my careerThe quartet was special, winning together is better than doing it alone. As in life, together we can make a difference».
With the 65×14
There's really not much time left. We talked about the 35-minute test in Montichiari and the participation of his national teammates in his effortAnd now that time is running out and Pippo says he'll probably spend the hours just beforehand in bed, it's time to give a few details.
«We postponed the choice of the ratio until the last moment and after various tests. I wanted to use the 66×14, but in the end we chose the 65×14 because during the record I will go with a pedaling frequency closer to that of a road race, so around 96 pedal strokes. And having a slightly more flexible relationship could help me if I were to have any difficulties."
The 35-minute threshold
Because the moment can come and will almost certainly come. We'll have to see how the champion will be able to deal with it..
«It's a completely different effort – he explains – compared to a pursuit or any other performance. At first you would like to push harder because you would like to go further. Then you get to the point where you start to suffer. I had already done a half-hour test two years ago and at the end I was completely destroyed.On Monday, however, I finished it easily, and that really boosted my morale, and I told myself I was ready for an hour. But who knows, maybe if I'd continued, I'd have exploded the next minute. I intend to follow what they tell me from the sidelines., with the aim of suffering less at the beginning in order to be as tired as possible at the end."
The gang's help
What does it mean? riding around the track for an hour is hard to say and probably the only solution would be to try or listen to Ganna's story tonight.
«The hardest part will be maintaining the right position for an hour – he explains – to save energy. The hamstrings will suffer the mostOn the road, you can stop pedaling once in a while, but not during the record. The quadriceps is the muscle that works the most when you pedal, but when it's tired you start to... compensate with other muscles that are less trained and at that point you risk ending up with crampsUsually that turning point is there between 35-40 minutesAt that point you have to change your way of thinking, unplug, forget the pain and think only about breathingI believe a lot in the people around me, in the support they will give me. I saw it when I tried in Montichiari and the kids around started acting stupid and that helped me a lotWe are a family, we help each other in our performances."
The record of records
His friend will be there too Thomas, put on the music. Laughing Ganna says they had to revise his playlist and opt for something quieter that won't offend the more polite audience of the Grenchen velodrome.
«The choice of the track – he says – was made for its speed and for atmospheric reasons that I can't explain wellI didn't want to do it at altitude so as not to have an asterisk next to my name. Grenchen was the scene of my World Cup debut, I have fond memories of it, and considering Bigham's record, the choice was the right one. Dan helped us a lot to study the right pacing (pedaling pace, ed.) He did a special job for himself and for me.
«A reasonable record would be to go a meter further than him, the dream is to set the record of recordsThere's a super team behind this project, I try not to think about anything. They all work for me, they offer me the best solutions and I just have to push on the pedals as hard as possibleThursday evening we were at dinner and Cioni and the others suddenly got up because they had a meeting. Then they returned to the table. There's a special job behind it, to make sure everything is okay.».
Nine kilos of love
Finally the bike, the Pinarello, the Bolide F Hr created for the occasionLaughing, he says it's heavier, but that on the track this doesn't make much of a difference. In recent days, he admitted that after the Tour, he wasn't particularly keen on trying for the record. But when Pinarello showed him the latest arrival, he was so amazed he couldn't help but accept the challenge.
«Nine kilos is a lot – he smiles – and it might even feel a little slow in the first few laps. But when you get up to speed, she flies down the runway. Why it weighs so much I honestly can't say. Fausto probably put a lot of love into it».
