A photo. A snapshot of a moment, a snapshot in a sea of many lives, yet one that has the magical power to tell a story. Grand Prix Criquielion, in Lessines, one of the many small spring classics. The sprint rewards Matteo Moschetti, winner for the first time on Belgian roads. He came in third. James Nizzolo, his teammate, also a striker Q36.5 for sprint finishes. And that spontaneous gesture that the two unconsciously repeat after arriving tells not only the present, but also the past. of two riders whose professional paths had already crossed in the past, but in very different ways.
The first meeting as an intern
We have to go back a few years. It was 2017, Moschetti was just starting out in the cycling world, he was called for an internship at Trek-Segafredo as a trainee, while Nizzolo was, even then, the top sprinter: «I was sorry, then, not to be able to share some races with him, even the following year when they called me backWe didn't have the chance to race together, but for me, who was still a rookie, he was a role model. He's someone who's won a lot; his track record speaks for itself. Then we got here by different paths."
But Nizzolo had noticed that boy, Milanese like him: «One summer we found ourselves on retreat together and our origins also helped bring us closer. You could see his interest, his determination, even though Matteo isn't a man of many words. Then I went to the Vuelta and our paths diverged, We didn't meet again until last year, when I joined Q36.5».
United by suffering and sacrifice
Today the different specific weight of then is no longer there, we are in the presence of two fully mature riders: «He, however, is in the prime of maturity, I now have a few years under my belt» says Nizzolo with Moschetti who raises the stakes: «What unites us is that we both had careers plagued by injuries. Each of us knows what it's like to suffer on a bike, facing the long climb back up after a fall. In February we did a training camp together, including with Parisini. e we compared our stories and found many points in commonThere is no rivalry, even if we are two different sprinters."
All things considered, we could review what is happening to theAlpecin, with Groves in Philipsen's service"Why not," Nizzolo replies, "it depends a lot on how the races go, on the opportunities that are created as we get closer to the finish line. Each of us is available to help the team achieve the best possible results.».
Different sprints, aiming for the top
"The Belgian sprint was a strange one," Moschetti recounts. "We had only one turn, to the right, in the final 3 kilometers, a descent on a wide, straight road, then the final 800 meters at a 3-4 percent gradient. I saw that Giacomo had lost positions due to a crash in front of him, but a slowdown allowed him to recover, even though it forced him to launch a sprint from afar. In the meantime, I had found a gap on the right and was able to catch up. Everyone did their part, in the end we both did well, giving the team a good result.».
This is Moschetti's second win of the season. What has changed since 2024, when, despite so many placings, the win remained unknown?Not much has changed, not even with the change of trainer. Mattia Michelusi he went to the Cofidis but we remained on excellent terms. In his place came Theo Ouvrard which for now hasn't changed almost anything in my schedule, relying on the work I've been used to doing for a few years now."
A podium in Belgium is never something you throw away…
"I think a lot depends on the atmosphere within the team," Nizzolo says. "It's clear that our goal up front is to get into the WorldTour, but we're not worrying about that." We all work well together, even Matteo's victory on Saturday was the result of everyone's commitment.For now, we'll take it race by race, and we'll take stock of the situation in June. For my part, I'm quite satisfied with this start to the season; in Oman I took second place behind kooij and another top 10, then a podium in Belgium is never a given, because the level is always high and a result like that is never trivial. Returning to the post-race, it was natural for me to celebrate Matteo's victory, luckily I did it after the finish line..."
