Luca's season Vergallito it closed prematurely, with the fall of the Agostoni Cup caused him to fracture his clavicle, which required surgery. However, what made his convalescence less bitter was the news of his promotion to the first team of theAlpecin Deceuninck, who will make up the small Italian contingent together with Nicola concept, the only confirmed Azzurri player.
For the Milanese it is an important step, after a year of apprenticeship in the Devo team which had followed to his victory in the Zwift contestA second chance that opened the door to cycling that counts for him, giving new strength to the dreams that he had put aside almost with resignation.
«For me this promotion has a very sweet taste – says Vergallito – The confirmation from the team is the best reward for what I have done in this first year of activity, it shows that I have really done something good if the managers saw me as suitable to make the further, decisive leap in quality".
This result also answers the doubts about your cycling career, which you confessed you had too...
Yes, it's true, they accompanied me throughout this season. I was the first to have that skeptical little voice inside me that confronted me with what I was doing.In the end, this year proved that my choice was the right one, but I think I also sent a message to others, showing that you can also follow a different path to make your dreams come true, that anything is possible. I don't want to sound arrogant, I know that my results have come in minor races and that there is much more to do., but for me this is a beginning, not the end of a journey.
Now you're moving up a category, you'll compete with the strongest, in fact you'll have some of them on your own team...
It's absolutely inspiring. I'll have to compete against the best in the world, and this is the biggest challenge I can face. It's crucial that I can prepare well this winter. For this reason, as soon as possible, hopefully within a week, I want to get back on the bike, to be ready when the real preparation begins.
What was the best moment of this season?
Probably victory at the last stage of the Oberosterreichrundfarth, which also allowed me to win the general classification. It was my third stage race of the season, it was a turning point, it put aside all those doubts I mentioned before. A violent outburst of emotions. Then came other good results, such as the successes at the Provincial Cycling Tour in Belgium and the Giro del Friuli, but they didn't have that emotional charge.
How does it feel to be chosen as one of the two Italians?
I know that they have changed a lot in the team, after all 30 places seems like a lot, but it's not at all like that, especially considering all the objectives that a WorldTour team hasThe positions are those and every manager wants every seat to be well filled… This means that if you are among those chosen, you truly deserve it, it is not a gift…
You will be competing with the greatest, Van Der Poel and Philipsen, what does that mean?
To tell the truth There won't be many occasions where we'll be togetherWe'll have very different calendars, at least in terms of structure. They're classics and sprint riders, and they need a team to support them. Alpecin, on the other hand, is built very much around them and that type of calendar; it's not a team aiming for the Grand Tours. I will be called to take part in races more suited to my characteristics, in challenging tests, with many climbs.There won't be many of us who follow this path, but I know we'll still have a competitive team where we'll try to achieve results from time to time, and maybe I'll try to do so myself in some cases.
Since your story came out, you've received a lot of media attention. Do you think this has helped you?
Not much, but it didn't put much pressure on me either. I always focused on what I could do. I don't look so much at what's happening around me as at myself. and to the people who have been closest to me and have pushed me to always give that little bit more.
On social media, you yourself mentioned in the past that many have been quick to attack you, as if your passage through a competition rather than the youth categories was a fault. Do you think this outcome will finally silence so many detractors?
Unfortunately I don't really believe it, Criticism has never been lacking, even in the best moments of the season, and I know that as soon as something goes wrong, it will be heard again.I hope that at least someone who had doubts about me has been convinced. I have no doubts anymore, that's what matters.
