Why did riders in the past have to be chased to train, while Should today's people – young and old – be held back because of how hard they try? It was the question that came out speaking with Enrico Gasparotto and the first response, it must be admitted, was that evidently today the group exudes professionalismThe use of the imperfect comes from the fact that we spoke about the topic with Giovanni Ellena, sporting director of Androni Giocattoli. And his point of view turned everything upside down.
«Gasparotto certainly speaks of superior riders – he says – those of the small teams are still worth following. They certainly have a lot of desire to do well. We had to hold him back after he broke his arm, because he would have started again right away. Children, especially the younger ones, lack self-awarenessWhen I was racing, up until 1992, you made mistakes due to clumsiness. Today they do it because they're afraid of being left stranded. We risk burning a lot of people.If we could achieve this awareness, perhaps we could try to change things."
Professionals not in fact
A boulder would have made less noise. And while we slowly try to enter this dimension of reasoning, Ellena starts again.
"Those who come from WorldTour teams," he says, "do things well and in any case have someone who follows them every step of the way. So even if they don't learn, they do it anyway. In other teams, the more mentally-minded riders have always done their own thing.Even Scarponi, during the time he was with us, if there wasn't a team retreat, he'd book his own accommodations at Teide, Etna, or Sierra Nevada. The problem is with the younger ones. They come through, they become professionals, but they aren't. The sporting director can look after them, but he risks being seen as a nagging father.You tell them not to rush, but do they listen?
«And then I give him the example of Masnada, past that was oldHow many riders have we lost because we didn't wait for them? It's not a quantifiable number, but how many pass and then get lost? This has become a ruthless world, there is no more room for mistakes.».
If it goes badly, stop
The dynamics are well known and the discussion returns to themes already touched upon, which no one seems willing to touch. Agents continue to fish in increasingly shallow waters, team managers hire children, children believe the flattery, and if it doesn't work out... they move on to others.
«Is it true that Italian cycling is in crisis, or are we damaging it? We had signed Colleoni and Conca to give them a gradual growth process – continues the Piedmontese – but we didn't even have time to see them, because two WorldTour teams arrived and took them away.
«Since Covid, the level of racing has risen. With the fact that we can't travel much, the teams are all concentrated in Europe and if you are a half and half boy, because you simply still have to grow, you prepare ahead of time because you think you need it so you don't fall behind. That's why they're there training like crazy. Because if you don't get it, you're done."
The right to work
It comes to mind that in the WorldTour teams there are working groups dedicated to the younger riders, but it is also true that Donuts don't always come out with a hole. Oldani was at Lotto Soudal for two years and now it has landed at Alpecin-Fenix, good team, but they deserved to continue until they understood themselves better. Piccolo appeared at Astana, but he didn't even manage to set foot there because it wasn't ready. Of the batch UAE composed of Ganna, Consonni, Ravasi and Troia, only the latter remained, the others had already been archived.
«It would be very useful – continues Ellena – to have more high-level teams in Italy and at that point there would be an interest in taking the best Italian talents. Of course, if the aim of the game is to take them where they will earn more despite the regulations, then there is no way out.The right to work is superior to everything else, so alternative solutions are found. We're not doomed, I don't want to be seen as a killjoy, but certain things should be thought about. I see these kids, who are professionals without being professionals, who They make mistakes that I would never have made as an amateur in 1992, because an older teammate, seeing me, would have given me a beating.. An encyclopedia could be written on these topics...".
The right to the future
We're not done for, we agree, but something could be imagined. The prosecutors continue with their work, and the team managers sometimes seem to lack clarity. The rules are being overridden in the name of the right to work. Yet it would be interesting to ask these kids and their families, if they were still minors: Does the right to work trump the right to a future?
