In his review of the new team, Douglas Ryder he had been very clear about Gianluca's hiring Brambilla, having seen in the 35-year-old from Bellano a sort of director in the running for the team Q36.5. The South African manager, who had never had the chance to work with him, strongly wanted him as the cornerstone of his new team.It was precisely this strong will that gave Gianluca back the enthusiasm he feared had vanished.
Brambilla ended his season early, before mid-August. It was precisely during those days that he was making contact with the new team, facilitated and managed by his agent. Race.
«I knew the story of the Team Qhubeka – admits the Lombard rider – but I had never gone into the specifics. But hearing him talk about the values underlying his creation, the key objective in education and development in Africa, I felt involved. There, the bicycle is not a means of leisure or work as it is for us, but a means of subsistence even for fetching water. We need to do more».
You come from a WorldTour team, do you think you've stepped down a notch?
Technically no, it's just a statistic. I found a team at the forefront of its creation, supported by an emerging Italian brand that wants to growWe will have all the top-quality material, starting with the Scott bikes.
When you met Ryder, did you also talk about your role on the team?
He gave me carte blanche and this really encouraged me to get to work. I know that if it happens I will be able to find space for some statements, for the rest I will be a bit of an advice man, an aide-de-camp., on the other hand I have always been an important pawn for the captains who succeeded one another in the teams I was part of.
Speaking of captains, if Moschetti and Sajnok are the top sprinters, who do you think will be the man for the stage races?
I believe that with hagen We're well covered. You don't finish in the top 10 of the Vuelta twice if you're not equipped. I'll be able to give him a hand; in my career I've tried several times to aim for the Grand Tour classification, but it's clearly not for me (his best result was 16th place in the Vuelta in 2018, ed.). Then there are many interesting young players who will be able to grow slowly. It's our first year, everything that comes in is earned.. Be careful for example of Calzoni who is a very promising one, after all he won on Monte Grappa like me…
A lot of research has been done among young people.
It was the right choice to make because they will be able to run trying to exploit their desire to emergeThe beauty of this team is that it's full of riders who, each for their own reasons, are eager to give it their all, to redeem themselves, or to throw themselves into the fray. It's the best mix for winning..
Who will you bet on for the classics?
Given that the races and the weeks will decide who to focus on in the team, I think that someone like Devriendt He'll definitely be one of the top riders for the Northern Classics. A rider who finished fourth in Roubaix will want to prove it wasn't a fluke, and on the other hand, he's shown he knows what he's doing on those courses. Another rider worth keeping an eye on is Filippo. ConcaHe always worked for others, but many times it was up to him to save the day., I am convinced that if he has to run the race with the support team, he will be able to do well.
How do you rate your 2022?
Well, let's just say that there are some seasons in each of our careers that were a bit off-key. When I raced I didn't do so badly, 7 top 10s in 45 days of racing, even in some stage race classifications, that's not a bad result.My disappointment is more on a personal level, for how my adventure ended at Trek-Segafredo duration 5 years, I think I deserved a little more considerationWhen you're part of a team, it becomes like a family, you spend at least 150 days of full immersion, feeling left out hurts. I hope to have as soon as possible I had the opportunity to clarify things with some of the managers, and I admit I was disappointed..
So let's try to think positively: what would you like from this new chapter in your story?
I turned pro in 2007, but I didn't have that many teams and I always stayed in each team for a while, I think this weighs on me. I have a lot of motivation and determination on my side, I want to go back to running in my own way, even a little Garibaldian style.In short: I want to raise my arms to the sky again…
