The appointment with Antonio Tiberi it slides forward a few hours and from early afternoon we move to eveningThe reason is simple: to take advantage of those few hours of light and break from the rain to go for a short bike ride.
"It wasn't the first time," Tiberi tells us from his home. "It was raining this morning, and I have a bit of conjunctivitis, so I preferred to go out later. I'm in my second week of resuming activity, I have to say that I'm doing well., for now it's less tiring (he says with a laugh, ed.). We go out for short periods, a few gym sessions and some walks, just to get back into the swing of things."
You're entering your third year as a pro. How do you see your journey so far?
So, my feeling is that growth has been fairly steady. I haven't rushed anything; I've done everything in order. The first year I got into the rhythm of the category, both physically and mentally.Last season, however, I felt better, I already knew the staff, I learned the language better and after a year in the group I feel more at ease. I'm ready to climb the rankings from within.
You were one of those who passed very early, racing only a few months in the U23s…
For me, it was the right experience. In these two years as a professional, I've lacked some experience, but from the inside.
In what sense?
If I had raced a few more years as an U23 I would have learned something, but more related to the category. I wanted to test myself in professionalism, which has always been my goal. Let's just say I focused my growth by immediately entering the world that interested me.
And with Trek do you feel you made the right choice?
What I said before varies greatly depending on the team. The most important thing is that if a boy has the opportunity to go from junior to pro, he can do it with the right team.I was also directed by my agents, the Careras, who helped me a lot in finding the right team for me.
What team is it?
Both the staff and the sports directors are calm and relaxed, they have always given me time to grow. In my first year they never put their breath on my neck, neither to win nor to work for the team. Rightly, last year the level of effort required increased, but all in proportion to the objectives.
What are they?
The expectation is to win, someone who sees from the outside thinks that given my age I won't be given the opportunities. But those come, you have to prove you deserve them, like at Tour of Hungary.
But many months have passed since that victory. Have you had other opportunities to shine?
Since Hungary, there has been no shortage of opportunities, in other matches I was ready to play. If victory doesn't come, it doesn't mean I wasn't given the opportunity to seek it..
As an U23 you have more chances: to make mistakes, to move, to show off…
As an under, you have an opportunity every Sunday; the races are always open. If a rider spends more years as an under, it's clear that he'll win more, even simply because he's older than the others. But then you become a professional at 23-24 years old, getting there at 20 like I did is differentAs I said before, I preferred to enter the big leagues first and work hard to reach my level directly from the professional ranks, giving up a few victories. I still have a lot to do and to mature, in terms of character I am far from riders like evenepoel o AyusoYou can see that they have a more “adult” mentality.
The accounts are made at the end, not at the beginning.
Absolutely, but entering this world right away made me realize what level I wanted to reach.
Did you see those two you mentioned at the Vuelta? What was the experience like?
I felt like when you take an exam and you realize how it really works. It's something that puts you back in perspective and makes you understand what the level around you is.I took it, saw it, and processed it in a positive way.
However, not everyone has this ability.
True, in the end the team helped me understand this thing, in Madrid they were quite satisfied with how I did. It was mine first presence in a major GiroI've put in some good performances, both for myself and for my teammates.
Olive, recently told us that if the opportunity to move came along, he'd take it, since it might be his only chance. Was that the case for you too?
It's up to you whether it's the only one or not, but for me it wouldn't have been. In the few months I spent as an under I had seen that the level was right for me, so much so that I even won some races (like in San Vendemiano, ed.). The proposal of the Trek I didn't see it as unexpected.
The Colpack where you ran as an under did not have a foreign calendar, from next year yesDo you think it changes anything?
If, as an under, you manage to find a team that allows you to compete in international races around Europe, it becomes a different path to growth. When I went to Trek I didn't think about the most varied calendar, because this was a givenBut to move up to the WorldTour you have to be ready.
Or?
In the sense that not all 20-year-olds are capable of moving up to a WorldTour team. Living a life like this is difficult, staying at home for a month or two a year is complicatedI've dealt with it quite well, I don't know if it's a character thing, but I don't suffer too much when I'm away from my family. I'm also happy on my own, this is also part of growing up..
Talking with Ulissi It turned out that he ran very little in the first year, but you also gradually increased the number of days you ran.
These are also part of the development program; in the first year, they don't let you exceed a certain number of races. I've done 54. In 2022, thanks to the Vuelta, I went up to 68, in 2023 I should get around 80. I will start from Tower Down Under, then UAE Tour and the races in Italy.
