Aside from the fact that she doesn't sleep much and that her eldest daughter brought home the flu, The resumption of training at Mohoric has started in the right directionBut since Matej is a rational man, he just needs to compare it with the unfortunate season he left behind, to smile at the little girls who are making a racket and look ahead.
So, going back to talking as a rider for a few minutes, the third Slovenian in popularity and prestige after Pogacar and Roglic but the first in accessibility and pragmatism, he has very clear ideas.
«There are some important goals for the first part of the season – he says – where I ran very well last year. I'm thinking of the classics in the North, especially Roubaix (in the opening photo he is with Colbrelli at the start of the 2021 edition, won by Sonny, ed.). I missed out on a few victories and I would like to try again. do something nice next year».
Roubaix and Tour
To take back what bad luck made him leave behind. He said it. Martha Cavalli speaking about the Tour: this can also be a nice spring for the coming season.
«There are many times – he explains – when you encounter obstacles and when things don't go well, it's important to recoverI love cycling first of all and that's what gives me the motivation to continue and get back in shape as soon as possible. Then of course there are... the races I would like to win and the ones I haven't run at my level, as this year's Tour. This certainly makes you come the desire to go back and do it when you're really doing well.
«Everything is fine now, after the mononucleosis that took me half a year. For the last 10 days, I've been taking antibiotics, but it hasn't been a big deal.It was something the little girl brought home from school and it's already gone. I'm already fine, everything is fine. And I'm sure and convinced that next year I will find myself at the same level as last spring».
Sonny's Help
The Roubaix challenge will have a special flavour, because the 2021 winner will also be following her closelyWe were all waiting for Colbrelli to be confirmed, but then things went as we know. The announcement from a few days ago on the fact that will continue in Team Bahrain Victorious (also) as a consultant for those races, will give the approach and the eve itself a different flavor.
«Sonny – he says confidently – will be a very important added valueHaving someone like that lifts the spirits of the whole group, increases motivation, and will make us all run more united. More consistent with a dream that he achieved and that many of us may never achieve. Having him by our side will certainly give us something extra when we need it.
«Living with what happened to him was very difficult for me too, because he is a dear friend. We were together in the same room many times at the races and it was hard to live his story Thinking about what it meant, especially to him. I'll try to be close to him as much as I can, because I know he's hurt. He's certainly not happy about not being able to run anymore, but I'm convinced that He will soon find himself again and find new motivations to continue his life after cycling».
The telescopic? Maybe not.
So let's rewind to the best moment of 2022. To the victory of Sanremo with his Merida raised above his head and that unusual seatpost, whose story went viral in just a few minutes. How much more remains to be invented in Tadej's cycling?
«The telescopic seatpost pulled out in that way – he smiles – was certainly an isolated case. It was quite a serious thing, so to speak, it wasn't a small detail.We can't bring out something this big every year and use it to win. But surely we are always researching and developing materialsI think we are among the best in the group also for this reason. I think our team is especially successful in the classics, because we have materials that allow us to do really well on the roads of Belgium, where technology really countsWe're certainly not standing still and are already testing new solutions.
"I don't think anyone will go to Sanremo with a telescopic handlebar. Many riders didn't believe it would allow them to go faster. Maybe someone will and maybe someone will want to test it, but I don't know. I myself don't know if I will use it again».
