It was raining like in Sestola, when the pink jersey arrived. "But I," says De Marchi, "like these days. You have to race with your cards on the table. And when this happens, You have to be brave. You have to run knowing that you can lose everything, but it's the best way to win.. Or at least for me it's also the most beautiful way."
Luck and courage
The valleys around Varese were dripping with rain and mud. The water offered only a few respite, but Watching them go lap after lap it was clear that they didn't have a single dry centimeter. Then, at the end of the finishing straight, Formolo and De Marchi appeared, at the head of a day in which the Veronese also wasted the strength he didn't have, it was perhaps written that victory would go to the Friulian. It was a sprint in slow motion, as De Marchi joked, between two men exhausted and worn out by the long attack.
«In these situations and the type of weather there was – continues De Marchi – It's better to be ahead and spend, because it's very difficult for those behind to chase.With 15 kilometers to go, I managed to seize the right moment. Formolo followed me, and we managed to find the determination to finish. After the ups and downs of the first part of the season, we have finally found some serenity.I really wanted to take part in this race…”.
Why?
I had looked at the route a few weeks ago and I told myself it could be an opportunity, for the streets and for the weatherI did everything I could to be there, because my wife is pregnant and we're almost there. I had to rush home from Emilia, because it seemed like the right time, but instead it was a false alarm. Now the goal is to get to Lombardy, but it all depends on her.
It seems like two years have passed since Sestola, but it was actually last spring...
A lot has happened. That day remains at the top of the list of great memories, but it was followed by equally large negative events. Two difficult months, when bones break it takes time and in this fast-paced cycling there isn't always time. I have to thank the team who waited for me without putting pressure on me. This is the second race after the World Championships that I've done wearing their jersey, I'm glad I honored her like this.
How did you get out of it?
I just wanted to run as much as possible, how a rider finds the feeling with his body and with the bicycle againI never stopped to think that I had to go back. I looked at the small steps I could take, to get back on the bike, train, return to racing and build what little fitness I could achieve through racing.
When will the turning point be?
When I went on the run to Plouay. I did my ride and in the meantime I felt that there was something good in my legs. We were on the right track, with a little perseverance I could do well. The ailments are still there, without my physiotherapist and osteopath it would be difficult. The winter that is upon us will be decisive for the coming seasonThe problem is doing a stage race; you can handle one-day races. But if you have back and leg problems, the three weeks become difficult.
What does this victory mean?
That I'm taking back my place, despite those who thought I was oldI'm back at the World Championships, a truly meaningful call. I was dedicated to the Italian cause, and it's a shame it ended this way, especially considering the Colbrelli in Roubaix. Coming back after a fall like that was difficult, but very important.
The bad weather is encouraging attacks, but it's a fact that many races are now run Garibaldi-style...
The level has become very high, more riders are capable of certain performances and this forces you to invent something new. If you wait until the end, you get very little done. You have to play early, and I'm fine with that.When days are like this, you have to be smart and find the momentum to get into the game. And today it happened with 40 minutes to go, when we got in front of the seven riders who were already in the breakaway.
The interviews and then for De Marchi the medical check and a bit of rest Formolo and Pogacar behind De Marchi, UAE has tried everything
The interviews and then for De Marchi the medical check and a bit of rest Formolo and Pogacar behind De Marchi, UAE has tried everything
You still have the bracelet on your wrist demanding justice for Giulio Regeni…
I'd like to win a race and not have it on my wrist anymore. I'm sorry to have it, because it means that there hasn't been any justice yet, no change.I will continue to wear it, to encourage the Regeni family that I was lucky enough to meet after the Giro. All I can do is encourage them and learn from them. for the perseverance and tenacity they demonstrate.
Then he heads for the anti-doping office, trying to retrieve his cell phone first. A message might alert him that his Anna has given birth to Giovanni. And as we rush to write, the doubt arises that perhaps... of Regeni and of Silvia Piccini we could also worry if De Marchi doesn't winHis last victory, in fact, dates back to the 2018 Giro dell'Emilia.
