A contact that can change your life. A year ago this time, Attilio Viviani he was looking for a new landing place, amidst a thousand doubts and hopes. His hunt was long and for a long time in vain, until almost suddenly he found a home at Bingoal Pauwels, in March, entering the circuit after the fact and then starting to chase. That adventure was short but intense, now another one begins, hopefully much more structured, at Team Corratec.
There is one fact that strongly encouraged Attilio to take this new path: the fact that they moved towards him since the new team was formed in a professional capacity.
«They were looking for a young sprinter they could rely on and they thought of me – he says – this gives me a lot of confidence because It means that there is a project behind my hiring and this motivates me strongly".
How did you break up with Bingoal?
Overall good, even considering I wasn't able to do a full season. I arrived late in a team that already had other sprinters, finding space was not easyHowever, I had a good time and the calendar they had was all in the North, where I like to compete and I know I can stand out. They had even offered me to stay, but in the meantime the proposal from Corratec had arrived and I felt more inclined to run for them.
So you arrive on the Italian team with different perspectives…
At Bingoal, I was left out in many sprints that seemed right for me. Here I have more freedom. If I feel strong enough, the team will work for me, otherwise I'll be the first to make myself available to others. Let's say I don't feel like I can be the team's main striker in the positions that suit me best; it's a role I want to earn on the pitch.
At 26, this is an absolute first for you: since 2020, when you officially entered the pro world, you had never been on an Italian team.
Things change a bit, that's for sure, even if talking about Nations in today's cycling is a bit pleonastic. I remember that when I arrived at Cofidis French was a problem at first. I speak English well, but I had to learn French and many pieces of conversations, even information on the radio, were missing., but less and less as time went by. When I started as an intern in 2019 I realized that the meetings and all communications were in French, then other foreigners joined and the meetings also started to be held in English. It's clear that being in an Italian team makes everything much faster, but I learned the hard way that if you want to do this job you can't ignore languages.
True, but it's also true that teams always have a special eye for the riders from their own country, which is why it's said that not having an Italian WT team is one of the causes of our crisis...
I am convinced that in modern cycling we need to focus less on this aspect and feel like a citizen of the world. The discussion about language learning is especially important for young people who go abroad like I did.It's important to get up to speed as soon as possible. For example, radio messages are essential to understand. If they tell you there's a traffic island on the right or left, you have to understand and get on the right side so as not to lose positions. And then it also matters for the future: I now speak three languages in addition to Italian, which is useful for my future professional perspective.
What do you expect from this new adventure?
I don't like to talk about specific goals. Let's just say I expect, above all, to live in a safe environment, where I can calmly think about doing the best I can. The team is professional but really has everything to grow and this convinced me in the choiceIf you don't have everything 100 percent you're just wasting your time.
You know that the team also includes the Luperini As a sports director. Does having a woman at the helm have any effect on you?
No, it doesn't change anything. I don't know her personally yet, but I know she knows her stuff, she's been competing for many years and therefore knows more than enough about cycling and tactics. He knows how to make himself respected, we will have the opportunity to get to know each other and get on the same wavelength.
Do you know any of your teammates?
We met many of them here and there, when you do this job for a long time, in the end we all know each other in a superficial way, but The first retreat will be soon, and we'll have the chance to get to know each other better. I can't wait, especially to face a warm December.I have to say thank you to Parsani, Frassi and the others for this opportunity: I won't let it slip away...
