These are intense days for Marco Villa which is entering the Olympic climate. That climate he knows very well, having experienced it first as an athlete and then as a coach, always obtaining the best results.There was a lot of curiosity to understand how he would find "his" group coming out of Tour of Italy and the feedback was more than positive.
«I gave them a few days off as was right, especially to recharge mentally, then We started working on Fridays and Saturdays and I have to say that I found the guys charged up and refreshed, especially mentally.The initial feedback has exceeded my expectations, certainly different from last year's."
In particular?
For example I found a agree who is a completely different person than he was in 2023 when he left the Giro not in the best conditions. The same can be said for Milan: Last year he had won the cyclamen jersey, but he was very tired in the last 3 days, but this time he finished much better. Ganna For his part, I found him in high spirits. Overall, the group is in better shape than in 2023, and that gives me confidence.
How is the work structured now, between volume and technique?
We need to work especially on the latter, considering that Ganna will be with us only in certain periods, having to also prepare the time trial and having the Tour of Austria. In fact, as soon as the stage race is over, he will return to altitude, the rest of the group has already done so.The others' work has also been adjusted based on Pippo's commitments, but they will still work two or three days a week.
On what basis?
First of all, it will serve work on standing starts and the first part of the race, which was necessarily our Achilles heel last seasonWe have a problem: the main quartet, the one that won three years ago, hasn't raced together for a long time, so when Ganna is present, it will be necessary to do some tests in race trim, more than in the normal tables because we need feedback.
Does this mean doing actual 4k races, with times that you'll use as a benchmark?
Yes, but obviously calibrated based on the fact that these are training sessions and not competitions. It's also important to keep in mind that the Montichiari track is very slow at certain times of the year, due to the characteristics of the wood and its reaction to temperature. They certainly won't be the times we expect in Paris, but they will help us understand how to get there, to find the right mechanisms. Furthermore, they will be useful tests to understand the workloads of each individual: how long will the launch of Lamon, how much Consonni will have to shoot after the initial shot, whether Milan and Ganna will have to do two and a half or three laps each. Consonni's work is fundamental, because he will then have to keep up with Milan and Ganna in the second half when Lamon will drop away. Without forgetting then Moro which I hold on to depending on the needs of the group.
Are you more or less optimistic at the moment than you were a few weeks ago when we were in the middle of the Nations Cup?
It's a different time. I compare myself to last year and the feedback is very positive, Lamon for example I see him even better than he was in Tokyo., but to win, everyone will have to be at their best. I hope that in Paris, Milan will be the equivalent of Ganna in Tokyo, and that Ganna… will be Ganna. Then we can really compete.
It must also be considered that some will have to work for other disciplines as well…
From 28th to 30th Consonni will be in Ghent for important track races, where unfortunately he will not be present. Viviani due to team commitments, otherwise it would have been useful to see them together in Madison. There he will compete with Scartezzini, while among the women there will be Paternoster e agree both involved in the omnium and the madison will compete Guazzini and Consonni. Then there will be the Fiorenzuola meeting, which is also useful for the other specialties.
You mentioned the women: how much does Archibald's injury affect the economics of the quartets' values?
I don't want to sit around watching the absence of the Archibald, which I'm very sorry about because I know her and I know how much she cared. We made things difficult for the English even with her present and at the European Championships we beat Great Britain without her, struggling. All this means that we have to look at ourselves, among other things we know well what it means, given what Guazzini and Balsamo last year.
Elisa also came from a terrible accident. Did you have the chance to work together afterward?
She was with us on Wednesday when she returned from Livigno. She did quartet rehearsals with semi-launched starts with Consonni, Alzini e Pregnancy to avoid over-stressing his wrist. At the beginning of the session, he had also said that based on how he felt in training, he would decide whether to participate in the Italian road championships. the fact that he has competed in Florence it's another positive signReturning to the quartet, we must not think about who will be there or not, we must be aware that we will win by running under 4'10" and like us, the British and the New Zealanders can do so, with an eye also on the French.
Balsamo and Archibald's injuries bring up the issue of risk during the Olympics again...
I have been living with a lot of apprehension for days, moreover the girls still have the Tour of Italy to deal with, but If I get lost in these thoughts I'll never get out of them.We need to focus on work, on everything that remains between here and Paris, then we'll deal with what we have in hand.
