You can make all the programs you want, Sometimes the best thing is to stop and take the time needed for everything to fall into place again.. This is the reason why Giovanni Visconti stopped in the summer and it is the reason why Giulio Ciccone had to do it too, in the year in which he should have left his first important marksThe cause of everything was the Vuelta crash, which seemed like a minor issue but instead triggered unpredictable reactions.
"The most obvious problem," explained team doctor Gaetano Daniele, "was the bruise to his right knee and the deep wound on the inside caused by a crown prong. Other bruises were also present, particularly to his right shoulder. However, the tests carried out in Italy have highlighted a distorting trauma, resulting in a strain on the medial collateral ligament. A problem that, in effect, required complete rest for almost three weeks.
Full stop and line break
Full stop, for this reason the season stopped at the 16th stage of the Return, the first stage race in which he would be leader of Trek-SegafredoFor him, in addition to rest, the alternative program to racing included physiotherapy treatments and a gentle resumption of training which on the one hand immediately raised hopes of a return to full efficiency, but on the other they have made us lean towards early closure.
«Before thinking about 2022 – commented the Abruzzese – My goal is to fully recover and I plan to complete this phase before the start of the off-season in November.. More mental work, planning and analysis will follow, to pick up the pieces of the past season and set the goals for the new one. I had the confirmation that I had grown, that I had made progress, but above all that I still had room for improvement.I have a better understanding of my weaknesses, which I need to work on, and my strengths, which I need to focus on."
A new beginning
Next year will be more important than the one just ended and on Giulio's shoulders, regardless of the protections that they will want to grant him, Nibali's departure and the absence of a great leader for the stage races could make him the team's reference point Trek-Segafredo.
"Preparing for the Giro and the Vuelta," he said, "resulted in a great team effort, of which I'm proud and happy. First and foremost, with Josu, my trainer, and then with the medical staff. There was a work of analysis and understanding to understand where to direct growthThis will be my strength, my greatest motivation. I didn't end the season with just disappointing performances. We're convinced of this. It will be the new starting point».
An important year
Yet in the environment, in this world that has lost the ability to wait, rumors of mistrust have been circulating for some time now about a boy who can do nothing but bow his head and promise to make amends. His data are not disappointing, the results are, but they are linked to indisputable episodesYou can cover up a bad workout with an excuse, but how can you deny certain falls?
«It was an important season anyway – explained coach Josu Larrazabal – because performance analysis work indicates that there has been progressi. We're not looking for excuses for the lack of results; a clear and objective analysis must take all the elements into account. In Catalonia, he had a back problem caused by an inflamed knee. At the Giro d'Italia, the crash and the infection. Then the trip to Tokyo, with the crash. Finally, the recovery at the Vuelta and another crash. However, some positive signs have emerged. No victories or UCI points, but fundamental advice for a rider who has not yet expressed his maximum potentialHe learned how to manage a Giro as a general classification rider and improved in time trials, thanks to Trek's help. These are measurable data that help us understand the season and mark the starting point for 2022».
With fingers crossed that things take the desired course and hoping that the bad luck that started with Covid in 2020 decide to leave him alone. The 27 years old knock on the door, the right age to come out and demonstrate that the margins are there and his is not a stalled trajectory. Knowing his spirit, in this moment of recovery and reorganization, the greatest pain comes from his pride.
