The season has restarted and, as usual, it has done so by giving great priority to sprints. So far, it's mainly foreign sprinters who have rejoiced. Just yesterday he broke the ice Jonathan Milan, but it remains to be seen whether he should be classified as a pure sprinter.
With Endrio Leoni , a great sprinter of the 90s and 2000s, we wanted to delve deeper into Italy's fast wheels. We asked him to identify five of them. What can we expect from them? Which are the purest ones that will allow us to fly the flag in the most important sprints?
Hard times
Endrio is as frank as he was on the bike as he is on the microphones and he immediately says that even today's Italian sprinters are not having a great time.
«I'm having a bit of trouble finding five – says Leoni – because it's one thing for a "half-sprinter" to finish seventh, tenth... It's another thing for a sprinter who fights for victory. It's kind of the same thing I hear about climbers all the time. They say, "He's strong on the climbs." Okay, but if he doesn't win...
«Anyway, I choose Nizzolo, Viviani, Dainese and Consonni».
Nizzolo, not just power
And following Leoni's order, we begin this analysis with Giacomo Nizzolo.
«Nizzolo is someone who wins his 2-3 races a year at least. At the beginning he was a really promising sprinter, he had excellent prospects, then at the best moment he had that physical problem, with his knee if I remember correctly, and this took a lot away from him. It takes away your time, your mental energy, it takes something away from your body… mentally it doesn't seem like it, but it makes itself felt."
"Giacomo was one of those guys who held his own on the climbs, and I really like that quality of his. Let's see if he can reach his level (or maybe it's the others who have improved a lot, ed.). Plus, he's also capable of handling the final stages."
And even if Nizzolo pushes and looking for very long relationships, Leoni does not seem to agree that Giacomo is super powerful.
"It's not so much about the relationship. It's true that he starts from afar, but then you also have to understand what your opponents are doing. It's powerful yes, but what I mean is that it's not a Kittel."
Viviani and Ineos
We then move on to "His Majesty" Elijah Viviani, that the more time passes the more he is esteemed by colleagues and technicians.
"Elia," Leoni explains, "has gotten a bit lost in time, at least on the road. And that's a shame. I don't know if it was a mistake for him to go to France and leave the team where he was winning. He needs to rethink things on the road.
«He would need at least a couple of men, because it's true that he's good at jumping here and there, but if every time you're alone, have you already done half a sprint and then your legs for the other half? My concern is that I don't know if in Ineos Grenadiers give him two men or at least the necessary space."
«What do I like about him? At 33, he still has a lot of determination. Racing on the track and road at that level is incredibly difficult. He still has a few seasons to do well."
Dainese Hope
And we come to Alberto DainesePerhaps thanks to his young age, Leoni is firing on all cylinders. The DSM athlete is the most promising, if you will…
«Among those nominated – continues Leoni – he is the one who gives the most hope. He's a good kid and he's Venetian like me! He should find a team at his disposal, that would be great.. Because I see that he is often too far behind when the sprint is launched. He can't always burn himself out to come back... and finish fourth, for example. At 250 meters, he's 12th-13th, when he should be 6th-7th. Al Tour of Italy Bardet also gave him a hand, and he's good, of course, but he's a climber. There, we need a sprinter almost as strong as you, the leader. Someone who knows how to push the gears well, especially with the speeds (and gears themselves) that exist today. In my opinion he deserves it, Alberto has done his apprenticeship."
"Dainese is explosive. He can even sprint 180 meters. But these are analyses that are meaningless. Every sprint is different. Maybe there's a bend at 300 meters, or you arrive very quickly from a 1.500-meter straight... like the ones I preferred."
Consonni, trailblazer?
The list of the former Venetian sprinter closes with Simone Consonni.
«Simone – continues Leoni – He's a great athlete, but I see him more as a support sprinter. He's excellent in that role... Obviously, if he's mentally ready to do so. He can have his say on many occasions, but he's a placeholder. Plus, he holds his own well on the climbs."
«For me, Simone should find a super sprinter: a Jakobsen, a Groenewegen, to lead their train. Because that role is the most difficult thing, You need superior tactical intelligence and at the same time you need to be very strong: qualities that he has. He could be a Martinello, a Lombardi. Look, John wasn't super powerful, but he was the smartest."
And the fifth?
The names we are reeling off are all good riders: from Lonardi ad Attilio Viviani. Da Konychev a Fiorelli. From Mareczko a Severed...
«We are among the placed – explains Leoni – Mareczko is the fastest of all, even those mentioned above, but he is good for smaller races. I've been following him for a long time. When I was young, I thought, 'Well done, this guy.' But apparently it's not easy to adapt among the pros."
«Yes, then there are names like Trentin or Pasqualon, but they are not sprinters. They're very fast riders. Pantani was also fast, and if he sprinted, he could finish tenth. But it's one thing to fight among the top three, and another to fight for tenth place. It's a different job, a different sport; the speeds change, the watts change. There are 200 less. It's one thing to sprint at 1.600 watts, and another to do 1.400 watts in the lead.
«If anything, we wait for the young people, like Milan yesterday. I know Jonathan well. He's a 2000cc racer; he raced with my son. He's fast, tall, powerful... let's hope he can find the right space in that team."
