Un Tour of Italy won together and many kilometers to do side by side to reach new goals. Salvatore Puccio is one of the gregarious par excellence of the Ineos Grenadiers and in May 2021 he helped his captain Egan Bernal to conquer the much-desired pink jersey which went to join the yellow one conquered in 2019.
This year, the Colombian ace who is crazy about Italy wanted to return to France to try to wear it once again, but ithe terrible accident January has turned his plans upside downMore serious consequences avoided, Bernal started over again and finally in August the number has been reconnected on the jersey, participating in the Tour of Denmark.
Last week, between the French Riviera and the Riviera dei Fiori, The thirty-three-year-old Sicilian reunited with his friend Egan and we asked them how the recovery of the South American talent is progressing in view of 2023.
Salvatore, first of all, how are you?
This week I went back home to Umbria for a bit and, in addition to cycling, I finally saw family and friends again with a little more calmI've been in Assisi since 2012 and I'm happy here. The season is almost over for me. I'll be doing the last two races next week, the Giro di Toscana and the Coppa Sabatini, and then I'll think about the new year. I was supposed to do the Vuelta, but then the team opted for younger teammates: there are many of us, 32, but it was right this time that those who have less experience should gain some experience.
Last week you rode with Egan Bernal. How did you feel about it, given that so many fans are eager to come back and cheer him on the roadside?
I was supposed to go out with him from the beginning of July, because after the Italian championship I stayed in Monaco for almost two and a half months. We didn't meet because he was previously in Andorra for a high altitude training camp., after that I was at the races. So I wrote to him one day and we managed to organizeI didn't have to do much, but when he wrote to me that he wanted to go a long distance, I said: "Come on, I'm coming."
So on September 1st you rode 120 kilometers side by side with about 1.600 meters of altitude difference, even crossing the border into Italy.
Yes, there was also Brandon (Rivera, ed.), who is another very nice guy, so we had fun. I was happy. to see Egan again because I hadn't seen him in a year, even though I heard him on the phone. What can I say, I saw him well, since we all know that the injury was significantIt wasn't easy because he had so many broken bones and various complications, but that day I found him calm and I'm very optimisticI think he can come back to the top. He's talented, he's young, I think he can do well. Brandon also broke his collarbone at the beginning of the year, but he returned to racing much earlier and we raced together. Tour of the Alps and some training. Instead I hadn't seen Egan for a really long time. and I was happy to find him in the saddle again.
What can you tell us about Egan?
I don't want to be biased, but I'm crazy about him. He's one of those phenomena for whom everything comes easily.There are those who have to train like us mere mortals and then there are people like Egan, Evenepoel or Pogacar, which have that little something extra. SThey were born to ride a bike and win.
You've helped many win, just remember the Giro d'Italia with Chris Froome, as happened with Egan. What happens in a champion's head after a bad fall?
I saw Egan very motivated, with a great desire to return to racing on important stagesIf it had been up to him, he would have returned even a few months earlier, only that given some problems with his knee, the okay from the team doctors was needed, which is why his debut was postponed by about twenty days. He felt ready, he's eager to return, and you can see it in training too.
Did he wring your neck?
That day we took a nice tour around Baiardo and Perinaldo: splendid villages. He wanted to do an even more challenging tour with the Col de Turini, but that morning the weather was bad in France, so we opted for Italy. After climbing in those places, we went down from Dolceacqua and extended a bit in the French area, for round up to four and a half hours.
By now you all know those streets.
I've been there for ten years, so I know both the French and Ligurian parts like the back of my handFrance has better asphalt, while Liguria needs a bit of work, otherwise I like the routes in Liguria better.
Have you seen the Egan of his best days?
We took a normal step, without specific work, however you can immediately see the difference between the champions and the less champions: talent is something else.
Did you make a stop?
In training sessions like this we always stop halfway to eat something, have a coffee or relax for a moment. He always drinks cappuccino, he's crazy about it. Then he speaks our language well, he is an adopted Italian and it was nice because in that day, many people recognized him on the street. Also in Verrandi, a somewhat unknown climb behind Dolceacqua, a van with 3 workers cheered himI told him, “Look, I come here almost every day, but they only recognize you!”
Did you speak to him often while he was injured?
He speaks good Italian, so maybe he has an even deeper relationship with us, but he's actually quite sociable with everyone. He has a nice personality and I think it shows well from the outside too.
So, is he also in the increasingly crowded field for the 2023 Grand Tours, or is it better to proceed step by step?
I hope so, because it would be ideal for the show and for those who follow cycling on TV. I think everyone is dreaming of a great match between Vingegaard, Bernal and Pogacar: They are the three strongest uphill climbers. Then there are also other talents like Evenepoel, but I think that the three of them have shown that they have that little something extra as climbers, so it would be great to see them battle it out at the Giro or the Tour. The more high-level athletes there are, the better it is for cycling and for those who love it. From the first races we will immediately see whether he has recovered well or not.Between Tirreno and Paris-Nice we will have the pulse of the situation: in cycling you never hide and you must immediately demonstrate that you can stay with the best on the climbs, There is no tactical approach, we saw it with Evenepoel since the first days of the Vuelta.
Everyone is waiting for it.
Egan deserves it, he was really unlucky. Unlike Chris (Froome, ed.), he can recover much faster because he is young.Age had a big impact on Froome's case. I still remember when I went to visit him in the hospital. I didn't think he would run again, I'll be honest.Only champions of that level have the mentality to get back in the saddle.
What's Egan like as a race captain, and what memories do you have of the Giro you won together?
He is very confident and on the days he was well he would tell us on the radioWhen you hear your captain tell you, “I’m feeling good today,” you try to give even more than you have, and it boosts you up beyond measure. He gave us that extra 20 percent and he proved it by attacking several times at the Giro.A different character compared to Chris, who was more tactical and studied the race more, step by step. Egan, on the other hand, is instinctive: "I'm fine, I'll attack."
Do you already know your plans for the new season?
Our Customers a first retreat in mid-October in Nice, after which we'll discuss the race schedule in December. I think I'll see Egan first, as soon as I get back up to Monaco.
Goals for 2023?
I'm usually in the Giro group, since I'm Italian and I've been doing it for many years now.The Tour intrigued me at the beginning of my career, but now I don't even think about it anymore: It's always been a constant struggle for us as a team.
