Emanuele has a radiant voice and a great desire to tell stories. Ansaloni returning from Azerbaijan. The former Soviet country was the scene last week of the Aziz Shusha, a 5-day stage race in which the Team Technipes #inemiliaromagna he really made sparks dominate the race, with the rider from Molinella who won the last stage and thus also conquered the general classification.
In Ansaloni's eyes, more than the victory, the awards, and the celebrations for success, there are other aspects that have remained imprinted. Especially those linked to the places where the competitions were held, and that's where he wants to start his story.
"I only knew Azerbaijan from the images broadcast on TV from Baku," says Ansaloni, who also took the extra-race photos for the report, "when the Formula 1 GP is held. When we left the airport I saw a sumptuous city, with great monuments, in short extremely rich.. But when the race took us outside, it was a whole different landscape. Poor countries, abandoned houses, small villages where it is difficult to survive And I was struck by the enthusiasm of the people as we passed; you could see we were giving them something new. Then the last stage left me speechless..."
Why?
We found ourselves running having tanks for spectators, the army in full battle gearWe were on the border with Armenia and tensions between the two countries are always high; until a few years ago there was war. We took a bike trip between extreme poles And while it's true that when you run you struggle to notice what's around you, those feelings of anguish have stuck with me. I like competing abroad, getting to know different cultures, but I can't deny that I was very impressed by what I saw.
Furthermore, you and your classmates didn't come from a peaceful situation, on the contrary...
My hometown is just a few kilometers from the flood-hit Romagna area, but fortunately my town wasn't damaged. But it's clear that racing has been very different for us since then. When you have a name like ours, you carry the image of our land around. Let me give you an example: right after the flood, we were supposed to run the Matteotti. We didn't even consider skipping the race: on the contrary, we wanted to be there and give 200 percent to do well and win, to send a message, and we did (in fact, he won). Nessler, ed.)..
Let's go back to the Azerbaijani race, what kind of race was it?
When we set out, we thought we'd be facing a fairly smooth ride, but that wasn't the case. the routes featured long, straight roads, with even three lanes, but we hadn't taken the wind fans into account, moreover, some of them were real climbs, up to 3 kilometers long, with gradients of 20 percent. In short, it was a race that was anything but easy; it was hard work…
What is the level of participation?
It was certainly not a WorldTour race. There were a couple of satellite teams from theAstana, some national teams from Eastern Europe or Asia, but also quite strong teams and riders, such as the China Glory with the Canadian Little ones who did the Vuelta in 2021. But everyone saw us as the favorites and in fact they gave us a hard time. We were almost always in control of the race.
How did you get to victory?
For me, beyond the victory, the first stage was important. Due to a fan, I found myself dropped and it took me a while to recover, but then I guessed the good escape, about ten of us arrived with 3 and a half minutes on the groupI had a nice loot in my pocket, we had to manage it and so we did, building the victory on that capital.
The feeling is that you've been getting better and better...
It's a bit true. To tell the truth, the season had started quite well, obviously racing with the pros, getting results wasn't easy, but in my first race in the top category, the Laigueglia Trophy, I still managed to get into the breakawayI always tried to go on the attack when I had the chance to race in the top division, and when I found myself competing in the under-23s, I felt good, but then I started to decline. In the Apennines I was back to getting my legs going and in Azerbaijan all that work finally came to fruition.
What awaits you now?
The Italian professional championship, I know it will be a very tough race, but I want to try to stand out. On the other hand If I want to earn a chance in a big team this is the only way I can goI don't have an agent, I try to let the results speak for themselves, hoping someone will notice.
