The first break is behind us and fortunately the temperatures in the Vigo area have dropped considerably. The maximum temperature was 26 degrees all day, about 14 degrees less than in recent days in Andalusia.. The Return restarts without Tiberi, eliminated by heat stroke, and with the standings still seeing O'Connor in the lead, then Roglic, Carapaz, Mas and in fifth place Mikel Landa, already fifth at the last Tour. The Soudal-Quick Step He is placing his bets on the Basque and to give him a better chance he has built a good team around him. Among the chosen men, there is also Mattia CattaneoHe should have been part of the Remco's elite guard for the Tour, but something (which we'll tell you about now) prevented him from doing so. For now, he's in the hotel resting up for the tenth stage, which begins with a beautiful first-category climb. Just to make sure he doesn't miss out on anything.
«Until yesterday – he says – it was so hot that the firefighters had to come and spray water on the groupNine days like this. That said, we're here for Mikel, but I can't say what I expect. It's truly unpredictable. Any day, the breakaway that takes minutes could disappear. It was the same last year when Kuss caught the escape, took a shovelful of minutes and then was good at holding themIn my opinion, it also depends on the paths that help this type of action and return to the rankings. There are so many fast riders now that it's impossible to keep track of them all.. Furthermore, there is no real super favorite with the team forced to control, so Whoever attacks, can take time».
We hadn't spoken to him since the first days of spring, when the project to escort Evenepoel to the Tour de France had made him one of the team's references. In the little Belgian's circle of trust, also due to his recent past, the Bergamo native represented one of the most important elements. Instead, Cattaneo suddenly disappeared from the radar and from the races.He withdrew on April 24th in the first stage of the Romandie and was back in the peloton only on July 25th in the first stage of the Czech Tour. Three months of blackout, with a surprise visit to his teammates during the rest days in Livigno at the Giro.
Why didn't you go to the Tour?
They found me I had a thyroid problem and was out of action for almost 40 days from the end of April to mid-June.. So I think the answer is clear. It was impossible to get back in shape, but I'm not one to tell many things. So in the end it was a difficult period. They found this problem and even the treatment, which simply consists of taking a pill.
All solved?
The problem is that it takes a normal person six months to find the right dosage. So they started from what they thought was correct, but it gave me a lot of side effects.I was becoming a bit of a slob on my bike. I had trouble sleeping. I wasn't feeling well in general, so I wouldn't have been able to trainSo in the end they preferred to wait for the values to return to normal, without knowing how long it would take. Whether a week or a year, because It depends on how the body reacts, how long it takes for it to adapt and regain balance.In the end it took me a good month.
Did they find the thyroid abnormality because you were sick?
Actually, no, in fact I was better before than when I started treatment. I went to do the periodic blood tests imposed by the UCI and an abnormal thyroid value came outI was doing the Paris-Nice, so you can understand when it all started. They asked me if I felt tired And I replied that I was, like anyone else doing such a tough race. So we decided that after the Sanremo, I would go for some specific tests.
And how did it go?
When I got the results, there wasn't a single value in place, so they told me to stay off for a week, ten days. When I went to retake the tests, that value which was just anomalous had become seven times worse. In the meantime I tried to see if I could keep up some form of fitness, but in the end I had to stop. Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten out of it.
Did the team follow you on this journey?
I was followed by an endocrinologist in Italy, also for a matter of convenienceBut I'm always in contact with Corsetti, who is my doctor of reference for the Federation, and with the team doctors.
And now is everything the same as before?
I'm fine now, honestly. At first I was worried, I thought I'm not in my twenties anymore and at worst I'd quit. I didn't know, after something like that, if I would be able to come back. Instead, I'm happy, because I'm the same as before. Of course, I had to watch Remco's Tour on TV, but I almost didn't mind, given how strong they were going (laughs, ed.).
The important thing is that you're okay, because you had disappeared a bit from the radar and even the team didn't let anything slip...
They didn't want me to say it until we were sure of the recovery time, but I don't care about those things. It's better to tell things as they are, even if you know how these communications are handled.Now I'm finally the same as I was before. I take this pill every morning and that's it. But at first it was really hard. I felt like a different person, but they told me it was thyroid-related symptoms. I was having anxiety attacks and stuff like that, I didn't know what it was.. Instead, since I started feeling better, all my values have returned to normal. They're all back in balance and now I feel exactly like before..
How was it to start over?
I got back to work as usual, in the sense that I am a professional, with the mind of a professional. But training is one thing, going to the races is another.I started again at the Czech Tour and it was the first race after four months of not racing. So for me it was already a lot to be there, regardless of whether it was a jogIt was a first step and when I saw that I was doing well, it gave me a great push.
Did you come back with any goals?
The goals I set for myself this year they've all already passed (smiles bitterly, ed.) But already Being here at the Vuelta and being competitive and helping Landa seems like a big deal to me. Just being back to my old self could be considered a first goal achieved for me.
The second week of the Vuelta begins.
And we'll have to ration our energy. Even tomorrow (today, ed.) someone could easily leave 6-8 minutes late, get 4 minutes late, and you'll find them in the standings. It's easy to say that the third week will be very tough, as if the first was tender and the second was not equally hard and plagued…
