After reading the press release with which la Federcycling he told about the inspection of the Italian technicians on the route of the Glasgow World Cup (FCI photo above), we knocked on Daniele Bennati's door to discuss the matter further. Easter is just two days away. And while the Paris-Roubaix is about to take place in France, the blue city is treating some seasonal ailments and enjoys the family.
Good morning Daniele, what was it like riding in the blue jersey on those roads?
I went slowly, because there was open traffic anyway. I averaged 20 and even under waterI was recovering from the flu, but then I got sick again (smiles, ed.).
Can you give us a summary?
We start from Edinburgh and these 128-129 kilometers are done in lineThere's not much to report, except for a small climb after about a hundred kilometers. The roads are mostly beautiful, in some sections there are some slightly narrower stretches alternating with wider roads. The stretch is undulating, the only danger could be the windMaybe in August it shouldn't pull too hard, but these are open areas. Once you arrive in Glasgow, you enter the circuit.
How it's done?
They are made 10 laps of 14 kilometersi. He is purely a citizen, a succession of 42 curvesYou cross two parks, so within these 14 kilometers, there are some slightly narrower passages, especially one, when you go to tackle the most challenging climb.
How are these tears made?
They are all very short. In the longest one it is difficult to reach a minute of effortThe race will be 271 kilometers long and the organizers indicate 3.500-3.600 meters of elevation gain. From the calculations and the traces we recorded, we should be around 3.300In the end, it's still a World Championship, so even if I'm not crazy about the route personally, it will be tough.
How would Bennati have felt as a rider?
I think so. It's a demanding path. We always end up back there. Van Aert and Van der Poel they're getting married there. They have the ability to constantly change pace, to make these bursts of energy when they're already at full speed, giving something more than the others. They are people who are used to constantly changing pace from cyclocross.It's a strange World Championship, very fast, but you can't say it's tough.
Difficult to interpret?
Given that I'm not really trained, as soon as I stood up on the pedals I was already at the top of the various steep sectionsIn terms of effort, it's not a tough World Cup. But then, thinking about it carefully, It's not even a given that you'll arrive in a sprint with a very large group. In fact, the race could become almost uncontrollable.
Why?
Why it's a difficult path to interpretThe longest straight I've measured is 850 meters, so any kind of action that takes 30-40 seconds, you'll never see it again. If you shoot with more men, you might struggle less than the ones behind and it will be very jerky. You can use the team better than in Wollongong, where there were wide roads and so it was comfortable to follow the wheels.But it's also true that…
What?
A rider like Van der Poel could stay there the whole race and on the last climb he gives you a blow like at Sanremooh and you don't see it anymoreWe're talking about a minute's effort, and there are 2,8-3 kilometers to go from the summit to the finish, with another 5-6 bends. So someone who commits a violent act really risks getting.... If it hides well, with all those curves you can't see it anymore.
Does the route have anything to do with the one on which Trentin beat Van der Poel and Van Aert in 2018?
I think it passes through the park where he won the European Championship, where the finish line was. The finish line in August will be in the center, but basically the streets are those. Furthermore, upon arrival the road descends a little before the 400-500 meters to the finish.
Will the 42 corners be fast or will there be a lot of revving to do?
Much will depend on how much they will narrow the lane and the cruising speed. However, it is clear that in a world championship with 170-180 riders, the first 20 don't slow down, everyone else will have to relaunch.
It's hard to figure out which tactics to use...
It's difficult to interpret. If you enter the circuit and 15 riders leave and take a minute, you really struggle to get to the finishYou never see them, you don't have a straight line where you can gain real speed. It's always up and down, left and right. If it were to rain, giving someone an advantage would become truly dangerous.The asphalt is quite good, though, and it seems to hold up well enough. When Matteo won, the selection was made and the path was not impossible.. So there's every opportunity to make a selection. Often and willingly it's not the altimetry, but the way of running.
Who can win it?
Absurdly, a Philipsen or even EvenepoelI think Remco, being a world champion, will definitely want to participate and he is fully part of this type of unpredictable rider. He knows how to file and ride the bike well and maybe, on a course like that, if he goes away on his own in the last two laps, with so many curves there are, you won't see him anymore.
And we?
We'll see. Thinking in terms of the team, Trentino it's a guarantee and you know that in the end it can do the job and also the result. It would also be a very suitable path for Ballerini. Then there's Affini, who works for Van Aert and knows how to move.I'm mentioning some names to give you an idea, but it's obviously still early. It would be a very interesting path for Nizzolo and Viviani, too, if they were at the level they were a couple of years ago. Another one that can do well is Dainese, but we'll have to see what the calendar will be.
Will the Tour be a must?
It's changing. Until a few years ago, almost everyone wanted to ride a major Giro. Today the trend is the opposite and is linked to the way we runOnce upon a time you could participate in the Tour or the Vuelta with the goal of the world championship. Nowadays things are going so fast every day that even if you wanted to make a stage by pulling the oars in the boat, you couldn'tNot everyone has such a powerful engine and risks leaving the Grand Tours even worse. However, there are those who need to work hard to get into shape and lose the missing two kilos.
Moscon returns to Roubaix on Sunday.
Glasgow isn't exactly the right place for him, but it would be really important to get him back. He is someone who knows how to polish things up and at the World Cup, when he was called up, he always ran wellI'm already working on the list, I never stopped doing it.
