July without Tour: Our journey among the teams that are not in France continues. After listening to the Corratec-Selle Italia , Green Project-Bardiani here she is Eolo-Kometa. Once again, a sporting director is hosting the event, John Ellena.
The Piedmontese coach was one of the historic pieces of the team John Savio and arrived this year at the court of Basso and Contador. However, they certainly have no shortage of experience and they explain to us how they are dealing with this month.
More retirements, fewer races
Compared to the two previous formations, the feeling is that at Eolo the focus is more on general preparation than on racing. There's no shortage of races, let's be clear. After the Tour of Austria, Ellena's boys will wear the number again on July 25th at the Prueba Villafranca.
"In the middle of this month," Ellena says, "I went to Bormio to follow the boys on retreat. Stefano Zanatta and Biagio Conte were there, the latter is a permanent fixture up there, but I wanted to pop in too. Then I'm moving right now to Tour of the Aosta Valley, a race that I am attached to and that I like to follow."
And in Valle d'Aosta Ellena will also find her boys: in fact, the continental team of Eolo-Kometa is engaged in this tough international race.
«I'm going to Bormio and the Aosta Valley also because this year I haven't had much contact with the kids. When I went to sign the contract in Spain, the first training camp was practically already over, so this is the first training camp I've experienced with them.
«And then I think that Being on the field, in contact with the kids, is essential. There are things that don't emerge in a phone call. I don't see their faces. It's true, there are video calls, but it's not the same. Whereas in person, maybe after three coffees, or a beer, something more emerges. You get some sense of something that maybe you missed along the way."
Across Europe
And then there are the races. The Eolo will race practically all over Europe: from Spain to the Czech Republic. But overall, they compete a few days less than the other two Italian professionals. For example, they're not in China.
"The point," Ellena continues, "is that we've been racing until the end of June. It's already been a very intense season, and one in which we've also managed to bring home some decent results. So we need a gap, a buffer zone to recover and take stock of the rest of the season. And it is right to do it in the month of July, when there were the right number of races."
"We take a look at who ran the most, who was sick, and who's doing well. We bring all the issues to the table."
Beyond the Tour
Recovery, work, and a few races: this is the recipe for July at Eolo-Kometa. Ultimately, the Tour is here, and for many teams, it's almost a good thing that this season-defining event is happening. It really gives them a chance to get back on track and prepare for the goals they can realistically achieve.
«In the end – concludes Ellena – the Tour takes nothing away from us. Or you are a high-level professional, structured in a certain way, and there are two or three of them in the world, you see Israel Premier Tech, Lotto-Dstiny o Total Energy, otherwise there's no point in going looking for trouble.
«Just being able to do it well Tour of Italy With eight men it's not easy, let alone at a Tour de France. It's unthinkable. Unless something suddenly changes, you have a lot more money and you work well... I think about the Uno-X, which is now at a good level."
