«I tried to give my best today – says Cattaneo after the stage that crowned Build Mollema - Why the goal was to fight for victory, but eventually I started to feel the stage in my legs. It was a very tough day from the start and you could see how difficult it was to get into the breakaway, but I was determined to succeed because I like to go on the attack. When things got really difficult on the last climb, I measured my efforts carefully and continued at my own pace.. And that helped. Being tenth in the standings is nice and it would be nice to finish like this, but there's still a long way to go. So I'll continue to take it one day at a time."
Blessed is life
Mattia Cattaneo he doesn't say a word more than necessary, but in the meantime entered the top ten of the TourWhen Mollema stepped on the gas, his legs gave out a bit, but in the meantime In this rediscovery tour, Mattia is climbing a step every day, reaching those heights that, for the many who experienced him as an under-23, he should have achieved much earlier. Blessed be life, sang Mannoia, who is perfect anyway. And in the end, between an injury and an excess of zeal, the Bergamo native of Deceuninck-Quick Step is getting back to his old selfAnd even for this evening, a half-reason to toast has been found.
Back in place
Marco Milesi, however, has a few more words to say. And it couldn't be otherwise, given that the Bergamo-born sporting director who guided him among the under-23s It still happens that Mattia trains behind the motorbikeAnd when he met him together with Ravanelli about ten days before the Tour, he understood that Cattaneo was finally coming back.
"He had several injuries," Milesi says, "including his knees and back. If you saw him shirtless, you'd notice that his back wasn't curved properly. but now that he's fixed all those problems, he's our Mattia again. And the Deceuninck-Quick Step It's really the best team to bring out his potential."
The right trust
According to Milesi, the turning point came at Androni during the two years he spent at Savio's court. Not before. At first, no one had any faith in that boy., certainly due to his ailments and problems. But the step from being the most brilliant Italian talent to oblivion was a very short one.
"Now he has the confidence that they didn't give him before – confirms Milesi – which he began to find again in Androni too and in fact he showed his worth there too. When we ride behind the bike I see him more serene, he seems like he used to beAlways on point. Work was everything for him, sometimes he was even too obsessiveHe's always been confident. Determined to death. And if now he says he wants to go one day at a time, it's certainly to keep the pressure offBut if the real Mattia has returned, he's someone who doesn't give up. And it's right that he tries while he can.
We don't give up on anything
The closure is for the person directly concerned, who in the meantime has arrived at the hotel and has just finished the massage.
«It's not easy – he explains – because even today they were looking at me. Since I was in the rankings and everyone rightly does their own calculations, they thought that the bulk of the work would fall to me.It was right to try and I will continue to do so, but you know very well what it means to be in a breakaway at the Tour. Luckily I'm recovering well and sleeping like a god.We're all dead, just look at each other. But I'll keep breaking away and then, if anything, the classification will come. There's a long way to go and the risk of dropping out is always there, but Milesi is right: nothing is given up».
