It all happened very quickly. Massimiliano Mori had spoken with Gianetti and it seemed that there was no problem with the renewal of Ulissi's contract. The UAE Emirates in any case, with the age argument, he had proposed a downward adjustment almost taking for granted that Diego would accept. Instead, suddenly Astana's superior offer arrived on the table and it would have been crazy not to consider it.
«And yet Diego, for the character he has – says Mori – he thought about it for three daysWe talked. He spoke with his family. We had dinner together. The offer made him stagger. Yet in my opinion, although very important in the choice, it was not the extra money that made him decideNow he's convinced, but in those three days he knows what thoughts he had..."
Mori has known Ulissi all his life. He is his attorney from the Lampre years and is the brother of that Manuele who for the Livorno native is much more than a friend. All lampre they even touched each otherMassimiliano stopped in 2009, Diego arrived in 2010. The words in the last interview they made us think. His loyalty to the same club throughout his career wasn't due to a lack of offers, but rather to the attention the team showed towards him. And we started precisely from this with Mori, to understand what (besides money) pushed Ulissi to change teams after 15 seasons.
Massimiliano, what does it mean that Lampre never gave him the opportunity to leave?
They've always treated him well financially. But above all... he knew and felt that he was the core of the projectHe was always a winner, he always scored a lot of points. Then Lampre became UAE and it turned into a battleship. Probably in other teams, Diego would have been the captain just the same, but here with Pogacar and other champions, he was smart and adapted.
Have there ever been offers that would have pushed him to consider the change?
There were teams, but there was no reason to leave. Instead, it was understood that this latest negotiation would be influenced by Diego's age, who is 35 years old.An offer UAE it was there, you could go on, but it was lower. There are teams that don't care about age, the UAE Emirates instead always look for young talentsAnd while still respected and valued, Diego has always found himself a bit on the sidelines or no longer playing a central role. I've found myself talking to other teams, and they would have gladly signed him, despite his age. The arrival ofAstana he brought together their need for a winning, points-scoring rider and his search for a less secondary roleLet's be clear, when you have Pogacar in front of you you can't say anything and in fact Diego didn't say anything.
When they announced in December that he wouldn't be doing the Giro, we didn't see any leaps of joy...
Diego doesn't say it, because he's an intelligent boy. But we in his entourage know things and he would have preferred to do the GiroIt's always been his thing, but he shared the team's decision. Don't think that was the reason for the change, though.
So what then?
The real turning point came when he spoke with Vinokourov. And in addition to the certainly significant sum, what convinced him was being at the centre of the project againFeeling considered and desired by the team leader again sparked something. He's certainly spoken about it with Ballerini and Fortunato, whom he sees often. Bettiol has arrived, who also lives in Lugano. Vinokourov explained to him his desire to bring the team back to the top and this convinced him.. A type of consideration that at the UAE it was gone.
Is it possible that the downward revision was a way of letting him know that if he found an alternative, they certainly wouldn't stand in his way?
I think that's exactly what happened. Or maybe they thought he'd stay no matter what. I repeat: an offer like Vinokourov's had to be considered, yet Diego would have remained thereHe was ready to accept. When he heard about the project, everything changed. Now he's convinced he did the right thing, and you know the rider. He always won and scored points, I think he won't stop doing it.
