FORLì – The steep concrete curves of the Glauco Servadei velodrome echo the screams of young Jenno Berckmoes. On the grass, the athletes are beginning to shake off the fatigue of today and this Settimana Internazionale Coppi and BartaliAfter five days of racing two names struck us consistency and permanence in the top positions, Ulissi e From Pretto. Experience and youth that today crossed paths once again on the last climb at the epilogue of this week. Diego, a further confirmation of competitiveness, having achieved his 46th victory as a pro. For Davide an awareness Not at all a given for a new pro. It's no coincidence that the two exchanged words of mutual admiration just seconds apart on the podium.
Satisfied
For De Pretto it is the first season among the pros. In Jayco-AlUla He seems to have found the right context to be competitive right from the start. The ambition to win is already there, making Davide's attitude fierce and fearless. "I'm satisfied," says De Pretto, "with this Coppi e Bartali. I didn't expect to be at such a high level. I already finished fourth overall, so for a new pro I think that's a good thing. I finished in the top six all the time, so I'm pretty satisfied. Hoping for a win is always difficult. Today I took too much time behind the entrance to the velodrome, which was very tricky. The Lotto guy is very strong and fast, so I settled for third place.
We knew it wasn't an easy race to manage, because Visma had a small advantage, so there were a lot of attacks. On the last climb, no one attacked, so I tried to speed up. Then Ulissi's experience made itself felt.He led the group and caught me at the top. It was difficult to break away alone, but just before the categorized climb I turned around and saw the group and stopped pushing. In the sprint I tried to sprint, I'm still there and I hope to get this victory."
Self Consciousness
At the end of these five days of racing, the Venetian is confident he's already established a good race pace and is showing the first signs of a positive response from his body after several days of racing. As he himself said, his top six finishes in the five stages confirm this. "At the start of the season," De Pretto explains, "I started strong. I didn't think I'd maintain my condition for so long, and now I have another block of racing to do in Spain and then Belgium, so it's still a long way before I can rest. But even in previous years, I've been able to do well." I noticed this ability to keep the condition high for most of the season, so let's hope it continues like this.
«Race pace? I feel ready. The pace is higher than last year, though. in the end they are always there in frontI'm leaving knowing that I'll have a good recovery between one race and the next, that I can handle the climbs, and that I'll be fast in the sprint."
Happy and victorious
The Ulissi we met seemed truly energetic and relaxed. He was fully aware of having achieved his goals with flying colors. He was the guide for a UAE Team Emirates young and eager. "I'm fine," says Ulissi smiling. I'm very happy with the stage victory and I finished on the podium. We have to be happy because for yet another season I've found victory and fought all week. These guys are coming along really well. I'm happy to be there. The Coppi e Bartali was a race where I had the freedom to go for my own result even though we had a very young team. I'm happy that the guys did really well and I hope I have passed on something good to him..
I was also a little worried because I hadn't been feeling well after Oman. I'd been off the bike for almost a week, but afterward I trained well and had a good placing at the Milan-Turin. Here I managed to get a good podium. Now we're moving forward, we'll do the Giro d'Abruzzo, which will be an important step because then We will go to the Ardennes with Tadej and we will try to be in condition to do well».
Among young people
This is Diego's 14th season as a pro. He's won each of them, and this year his first win came in the second stage in Sogliano sul Rubicone. His wealth of experience has been matched by a significant generational shift here at Coppi e Bartali. So we asked him what he thought of these promising youngsters.
«There are very interesting guys – explains Ulissi – like De Pretto, because he is always there, he has consistency and I hope for him that sooner or later the victory will come to unlock himself and to ensure that others arrive. I don't want to list names, but there are many young Italians who are going strong. The only thing, I hope for them that they are not put under pressure and that they can calmly bring out all that potential. which I'm sure they have.
«I'm leaving this Coppi e Bartali happy because this year I'm turning 35. the only thing I try every season is to give one hundred percent and I think I've had a really good career, and I'm always here to prove myself even though there are these really strong guys."
