Evenepoel is traveling around the South to test the stages of the Giro. The trip, which was supposed to remain secret, was instead used to announce that in 2023 the world champion will ride for the pink jersey, with a video from AmalfiIn those parts cycling is above all Raffaele Illiano, former rider and organizer of a thousand activities, whom we thank for the story and the photos, which Bramati turned to a few weeks ago, already planning to take Remco on a reconnaissance tour of some routes in Campania. And we turned to him to find out a glimpse of Evenepoel's journey along the roads of the Amalfi Coast and on the eve of today's probable inspection of the arrivals at Lago Laceno and Salerno.
Tell us, Lello…
Bramati had called me some time ago, saying that he wanted to take a rider to see the stages here. But between work and everything else, I'd almost forgotten. He calls me back on Tuesday and says he's at the store, but I was in Caserta doing some positioning, and from there I have almost 50 kilometers to get home. So we agreed that we meet at the airport and then maybe we eat a pizza, since that rider would have had to have dinner anyway…
What happened then?
He calls me back and he tells me the plane is an hour lateHe said to leave the pizza alone and that we'd talk yesterday morning. I'd go meet him on my bike, because first he would have to make a video and then I could do a few kilometers with that rider.
Everything postponed?
In theory yes, but I was curious to know who he was. So I called Belli, to find out who he thought he could be.. "Who do you think it is, it's Remco!" And then I stopped. I asked Wladimir where he was coming from and he told me he was training in Calpe. So I thought the flight must have come from Valencia. I went into the airport, checked and The flight arrived in Naples at 9:10. In fact, it had already landed.
Was Bramati not there yet?
No, so I wait and after 20 minutes this guy comes, takes his bike and rides in front of me. I take a picture of myself, say hello and tell him who I am. And then I tell him: "Look, Brama has yet to arrive, wait for it to arrive." He didn't expect anyone to recognize him, so I hear him calling Bramati and telling him that a former rider took a picture with him and told him to wait. And so Bramati calls me.
What does it tell you?
He asks me: "Illi, are you the airport?" I tell him yes and he says he made a mistake with the timeI told him that if he had told me, we would have organized it and I would have brought it to the hotel, but in the end it arrived anyway.
So it really was Remco, who came down to test the Giro routes…
Exactly, but Bramati tells me that nothing should be known until the video they're going to make comes out. “But what do you think,” I say to him, “that if you ask me to shut up, I’ll go around telling everyone about it?” Anyway, yesterday morning they stopped in NaplesI took them on the Amalfi Coast and I did a piece with them, because rightly this one walks, you can't keep up with him if you're not trained.
How long were you with them?
I walked about twenty kilometers with him, I took a few more photos and then he asked me if I could follow them today to see a couple more stagesUnfortunately, the father of the mechanic who was with them died and had to return home. So we stopped talking to get organized.
How did you see Remco?
On Chiunzi, he also tried to push. Then he went down the other side, he did the whole coast inside Sorrento. Behind was Brama with the GPS looking at the watts, the route and all this stuff.
Did it seem like a reconnaissance or a real test to you?
He was walking around, looking at the power meter. Anyway, from what I saw, It was riding smoothly on a 4 watt/kg ratio, just smooth, smoothYou can see it has an exceptional engine, I recognize these things by now. At the top of the Chiunzi climb he pushed hard and was seriousPlus, I think he's already thin, he might be two kilos over his ideal weight. Rather, it surprised me on the way down…
That?
It was going down very fast, despite the wetDidn't he know this is Sorrento and not Belgium and that he was risking too much? And then you go and say you fell while trying to ski downhill? He came down as if he were running. Maybe he's good at training.. At one point, he let a friend who was with us pass in front of him and stood 10 meters away. One thing I noticed was that guide with the computer that indicates the routeI turned that feature off, because if the GPS is late, you end up hitting a wall.
What are their plans today?
Yesterday they went to see the last 30 kilometers of the Melfi stage. Today they go to Lago Laceno, then they go back and go to see another one. Maybe the Salerno stage. At the end, they go to shower and eat in the hotel. In January I take a group of cycle tourists to Calpe in the same hotel and on the same days as the Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl, but Remco won't be there. Bramati told me he's starting in San Juan…
