While the European Championship was being held on Sunday, Matteo malucelli was facing the Paris-Chauny, a classic of the French calendar suitable for fast wheels and on this occasion he finished in 9th place. It may seem like little at a superficial glance, but it is not. For the twenty-nine year old from Forlì it is the continuation of a season, his first in the Bingoal where he achieved 13 Top 10s and for a team like the Belgian one, hungry for UCI points, it is a good haul.
The Flemish team is only the latest in Malucelli's career, having unwittingly become something of a globetrotter. Just think that since 2020 he has ridden with 5 teams and each one has given him something, has made him grow not only as a cyclist but also from a human point of view.Everything helps him mature, even races like last Sunday's.
«It wasn't just any race, considering that Jasper won. Philipsen and that I came within inches of people like coquard e GirmayIt was the first time I had done it: when I was at Androni we used to go to the spring portion of the Franco-Belgian classics, but not these ones and for me it was a discovery."
What race was it?
They say it's a race for sprinters and in fact it ended with a bunch sprint, but you have to earn the sprint because there are 2.300 meters of altitude difference and in fact some big shots were left behind, like Groenewegen. I like those roads, more than the Belgian ones because there are fewer traffic islands and roundabouts, the route is smoother despite having the typical characteristics of those tests.For me, reaching the top 10 means a lot, it confirms that I'm going through a good moment.
You had also done well in the tests immediately before…
Yes, since my return to racing in mid-September I have only “failed” in the first race, the Flanders Championship, because I fell 200 metres from the finish line, otherwise I would always have been around tenth-fifteenth place. Mine was quite a strange season, with a lot of racing in the first part and then a long break in the summer because there were no commitments in my calendar. and which I used to train at home, then I started again with the Renewi Tour, which wasn't really suited to me. I'm someone who improves my fitness by running, so I'm confident for the upcoming races.
How do you feel about the Belgian team?
It's not easy, you have to adapt to a system that is different from ours, luckily here between Apothecaries among the sports directors and Tizza in the team, there is also a bit of Italy that sweetens everything. The results are also the result of my slowly understanding how things are.In the spring I took some serious beatings in the race, because I just didn't fit in.
You are almost unwillingly a globalized cyclist: 5 different teams in 5 different parts of the world from 2020 onwards. Let's try to identify each chapter through a particular starting from Caja Rural...
I stayed there for two years, but basically the second year, when I was supposed to put what I'd learned to good use, I couldn't run because Covid had stopped everything. One thing that stuck with me? Dinner at 21,30pm, I'm used to eating at 19,30pm, they had a snack at that time.I said to them, "But don't you find it hard to go to bed with a full stomach?" And then you get up early in the morning. I just couldn't get used to it...
In 2021 you returned to Androni…
If we talk about Androni we talk about him: Gianni SavioI owe him so much and really Having traveled the world I understood in hindsight how valuable his way of seeing cycling is, even his character, in some ways particular but necessary to gain respect in this world.
Then you landed at Gazprom…
And I'm telling the truth, I would have stopped there for a long time because It was the ideal team for me, with a good Italian part, but with a Russian method., made of clear rules and planning, ideal for my engineering mentality, where nothing was overlooked. Everyone knows how it ended, and I was deeply saddened.
Last August you found a place at China Glory Continental Team...
It certainly wasn't easy, a team so far removed from our culture, but I appreciated the experience. Again, speaking of what stuck with me, something related to food comes to mind. I'd often run in China, but I'd never trusted the local cuisine; we always had our own chefs and our own food. I had to adapt and I discovered a very good typical cuisine, healthier than you might think.
Finally, the arrival at Bingoal…
I have to thank Tizza for helping me get in and settle in. Find something beautiful? I have to say the calendar they do, all Franco-Belgian races with the classic walls and cobblestones, something I had only seen on television and where I felt good.This is truly the home of cycling: do you run a not-so-well-known race on Tuesday? In the morning, it's packed at the start, there's a unique atmosphere, they're true enthusiasts.
Speaking of travel, the Tour of Türkiye awaits you.
I've already raced it three times and it's a race I really like. There are 4-5 opportunities for bunch sprints. In some stages it's perhaps a given, in others you'll have to earn it. I would like to take advantage of the good condition I have to improve my results and to understand what awaits me next year..
