On Sunday we all run for Jonathan Milan and his sprint to the finish line in Hasselt. As is done in national teams that wisely draw winning mechanisms from their teams, the city Bennati he identified Simone Consonni the best leadout of FriulianThe one who launched him towards most of the 2024 victories and who knows his movements best. Therefore yesterday, On his thirtieth birthday, the Bergamo native also flew to Limburg, ready to do his part.
What is most intriguing in Consonni's recent times is the time between Paris and the resumption of road activityHe who took the Olympics the bronze in the quartet and then silver in the madison, which the more we reread it, the more it shines like gold slipping from our grasp. Especially because of the fall, and those laps without a thread that led the Italian pair to struggle in the final sprint. without having a clear picture of the situation.
Simone, how long did the… Olympic decompression last?
Not that much, come on! The truth is that thanks to the fall, let's put it this way, I had to rest a little more than expected and so I basically did five days without the bikeI must say that they were enough for me and I started again with desire and determination. I started again at Renewi Tour and already I was physically and mentally in good shape, better than I thought.. So I immediately found the right attitude.
So that fall, from which you immediately recovered with a murderous face, was a real blow?
Absolutely yes. I practically immediately tried to get up, except that... I had a cramp in my right arm, practically all along my forearm and down to my fingers.. The thing I remember is all my fingers were spasming and moving on their own. So the right arm and also the left calf with a pretty serious crampI hesitated a bit before getting up and then I started again. I felt like I couldn't push myself 100 percent, even though I was completely in my own world.. And after the interviews and the podium, At the anti-doping test my head started spinning, I felt a little nauseous. Definitely something mental, nervous and everything, but maybe I hit my head and was a bit dizzy. That then, when the adrenaline wears off, comes out all at once.
If it had been a normal race, would you have stayed on the ground?
If it wasn't Madison and Elijah hadn't been there alone, I took all five rounds of neutralization that were due to me. Instead, as soon as my body gave me the chance, I threw myself right back into it.
How do you find the determination now to go to a European Championship and then maybe even the track world championships?
At the end, if you do this sport and try to do it 100 percent, you live for goalsYou always try to find the sensations and emotions that keep you going when you put your number on. It's certainly not always easy, sometimes your body tells you no, even if your head or desire is to keep goingSo you also have to give it the time it needs. But the truth is that for many reasons this Olympics was different from the Tokyo one.
In what?
There you came from a very delicate and particular period like that of Covid. The flight to Tokyo is long. There's a time difference.In the end, however, the trip to Paris was simple on a logistical level. We were an hour and a half from homeYou have family nearby, in my case there were my mom and dad. My brother also came up, my wife was there. The fact of hearing and seeing Alice every day gave me serenity and tranquility to experience the Olympics almost like a normal race. In Tokyo we were alone and without an audience and so emotionally, even without wanting to, Even before leaving we felt the weight of those small difficultiesAll in all, it was an easy trip here, which allowed us to return and get back to work right away with just a couple of days off.
We work towards objectives, and in recent days, Milan told us they'd been talking to Bennati about the European Championships for a while. Was that the case for you too?
It's important to know that during the year, after the Olympics, there will be the European Championships, so there's already an organization. Nothing will suddenly hit you, without knowing what's going on. Everything needs to be planned a bit and it is certainly important, because you can still program well. In this case I must emphasize again the fact that theThe team has left us in peace for all these months after the Giro d'Italia and that's not for everyone.
It's the price for all the teams that have track specialists, even Ineos for Ganna…
Leaving aside the Italian championship, I hadn't ridden with the jersey since the Giro. Lidl Trek. For a WorldTour team, which always wants to be on top, it is a significant defection.. Maybe not so much mine (laughs, ed.), but Johnny's, so we have to thank the team a lot. With "Benna" this thing was already in the air and the truth is that Johnny has gotten there and is getting there with his head, grit and legs at the top.And it's proof once again that the track, if done in a certain way, is not only good for you, but can give you something more.
At the Deutschland Tour he seemed insatiable…
I'm starting to get to know Johnny better and he's really strong, but above all mentally. He has a desire to win, to raise his hands and show that he is the strongest, which is something incredible.And the great thing is that he passes it on to all of us. I think we gave him a big hand, but he also gave as a leader a great determination and a great sense of belonging to our train and our group. And this has led all of us, both him and us, to have a spectacular season like the one we're having.
We were talking with Bennati about how easy it is to get the train going well in training, but that the real test comes during the race…
What he says is very true, because I think Daniele has more experience than perhaps the entire national team put together, excluding "Trento" though. (Matteo Trentin, ed.). It's very true, you can try the train as much as you want, but in the end the truth is that looking at the group we are, there are people used to working with great captains. The "Dancer"He's always been on big teams, like Cavendish's recently and before that at Quick Step. He's worked with Morkov, so his experience gives us peace of mind. Trentin shouldn't even be mentioned, just on an experience level he can teach everyone something.. And so we're at ease there too. We know what we want, and we have an important history in Europe.
This is your third time, right?
Exactly. I haven't raced much on the road with the national team, but this will be my third European Championship. In the first one, in 2017, we came second with Elia in Denmark. Two years later we won with Elia in Alkmaar.. So I'm super happy to be back in this group. What makes me smile a little is that after the Hamburg race I was talking to my teammates and I realized that on Sunday we will find them against usThose who have always been irreplaceable at our side will be our rivals. And important rivals, too. Dan Hoole will be in Koij's train. Theuns will be in the train of Philipsen and Merlier.
Do you think they will make two separate trains?
I don't know, and honestly, they'll have a tough nut to crack. Because it's true that Van Aert isn't around anymore, though. they also have Jordie Meeus, which perhaps does not have the consistency of the other two, but was the last winner on the Champs de Elysées.
Will Belgium and Holland be the teams to mark?
Not even to mark that much. I'm convinced that if you start marking too much, you're on the defensive. Instead you have to leave to get marked, but that's another story. We have to be good at managing it emotionally, but we have the men to do what's needed. For those who are used to managing everything on the track, where even the smallest mistake can cost you a medal, Road racing is stressful, but much more manageable.
