«I have the particularity of being able to express the same wattages both on the flat and uphill, something that others don't often manage to do." Remember these words? It was Matteo Sobrero who told us. The Italian time trial champion was returning from the World Championships in Belgium and there was also talk of his possible involvement in stage races.
And this is where we start: same watts on the flat and the climbs, basically the synthesis of the modern rider who wants (and can) rank in the Grand Tours. Matteo himself confided to us that Giuseppe Martinelli He told him to try it, but he was a little less convinced than his coach. "Better to take it step by step and maybe start with a week-long test," the 2021 Italian time trial champion argued.
Martino's long eye
We clearly couldn't stay still and between one race and another of this rich autumn we managed to catch Giuseppe Martinelli
"It's true," explains Astana's sporting director, "I told Matteo this because he came out of the Giro d'Italia very well. And yes, we also made him work hard for Vlasov, we had him in the breakaway. So he didn't race him lightly. Despite everything, a few days later we took him to the Tour of Slovenia, and he finished third. He fought on equal terms with Pogacar, who was in sight of the Tour.
«From here to saying that he will win, I don't know, but certainly if he could put in a test and run for himself, he wouldn't be a bad rider at all».
And when an experienced sports director like Martino lets himself go with such judgments, there must be something good in there.
At the top everywhere
“It's a shame” though that at the end of the season the young Piedmontese will leave theAstana PremierTech and that this experiment, if anything, will be done with others.
"It's not easy to find a big spot for a 'kid'," Martinelli continues. "Right now, there are so many really important riders competing for the overall standings. If he had stayed with us, maybe we would have created a little more space for him to try his hand at the big Giro. It only takes a year to see it. Today, it's not like in the past that you have to insist to understand it."
Sobrero: good climber, excellent rouleur, excellent time trialist… especially when compared to the general classification men.
«The Sobrero has a 110% air penetration coefficient. and that's also why he can go so fast. He can develop so many watts. In that sense, he reminds me a bit of Evenepoel. He's also small but he averaged 54 seconds... Matteo can do it when he's in condition like in Italian time trial.
«Matteo, however, should be convinced that he has a major Giro in his sights, and preparations for this can begin in the winter with certain work, with training camps in February, and by creating your own working group… But it's not easy to have this conviction today, when you know before the start that the podium is practically already all occupied. with the usual names. Better perhaps to focus on one stage or this or that race. Today, it seems absurd, but if we look, there is less specialization among those who win the Grand Tours."
And in fact it is so: the pogacar, Roglic, Bernal…they're going strong everywhere. The Colombian may be the most "specialized" because he's more of a climber, but he's certainly not stuck in time trials. This is modern cycling.
Impossible comparison
At this point the question arises: who can Sobrero be compared to?
"It's hard to say," explains Martinelli, "in the last 4-5 years, cycling has made enormous progress, it has revolutionized itself, so making a comparison with the past, even just a few years ago, is complicated. Today 30-40% of the riders in the group are really excellent.
«Look what it is happened yesterday at Tre Valli Varesine. With all that rain, given the pace they maintained, we entered the final ten laps with many riders still fighting. And right at the end, there were 15 who could win. Those in front had a two-hour lead of 35"-40". A few years ago, with that weather and that pace, the race would have been over shortly after and very few would have remained. And I, who love cycling, enjoy…».
