ZURICH (Switzerland) – It's almost four o'clock when the blue jerseys are starting to reach the finish line of the time trial where the first rainbow jerseys will be awarded tomorrow (actually, this evening he has already won the silver medal in the Paralympic relay). Noviero Raccagni passes and doesn't stop, joined shortly after by Gaia Masetti, Vittoria Guazzini and Bryan Olivo. The heat surprised us. We came up with winter suitcases, but the temperature on the lake is close to thirty degrees.. Time to look around and from the end of the street first Affini and then Ganna arrive.
The Azzurri have finished the inspection with roads closed on the route of the stopwatch and finally they were able to get an idea of the curves, the climbs and the descentsThe last one, the one that leads back to the lake from the hill, is scary. We'd already said so when we came with the technicians for the inspection, but seeing it from the wingtips of a time trial bike was something else entirely.
«The route is beautiful – he says Velo - And It is certainly not designed on the characteristics of either Goofy or EdoBut it's like that for everyone. The start of the second half of the race is quite challenging, but what's striking is the very dangerous descent, I'd add, crazy for a time trial. I don't agree with the UCI's decision, because it's too risky. Such a decision is absolutely unacceptable in a test where you reach 100 km/h on a narrow road. I hope everything will go well in the end. We need to stay focused throughout the time trial. The guys have I tried the descent twice after the longest climb. There are curves, not just on that descent, where you need to be careful. They're not particularly dangerous, but you know that when you're racing, you're always pushing the limits, so it's a matter of seconds to go beyond them. So you'll need to be extremely careful.
Affini and the new Cervélo
Affini has just finished answering an interview in Dutch, which he speaks very well. After all, since before the summer, Edoardo moved to his Dutch partner's house and even the phone number took the prefix from up there. The new Cervélo celebrates victory at the European Championships and even if the world championship path is not for him, the attitude is constructive.
«It's tougher than the European ones – explains Affini – obviously also longer. It's 46 kilometers, certainly a significant distance, as it should be for a world championshipIt will have to be managed very well, because the first part is fast, the central part has more elevation gain and there you will have to distribute your energy well without exaggerating too much. In fact then in the final part, in the last 12 kilometers along the lake, if you still push hard, you can still make the difference.
«Winning the European Championships gave me a great boost in morale. At the same time it hasn't changed me, I think the shape is more or less the sameIn a week, more or less, it shouldn't be much different. Let's hope we have the right day, and I'll try to do a good time trial. This week I tried to recover as much as possibleMonday and Tuesday were just two short, really relaxed rides. Wednesday and Thursday were a couple of slightly more serious workouts on the time trial bike, but nothing too heavy, because anyway… the important load was made at the Vuelta. So now the focus was more on trying to recover energy and make the finishing touches."
Ganna's Craving
Evenepoel passes with his golden bike and immediately after Roglic, when we approach Pippo Ganna. Velo described him as a rediscovered riderHe talked about a big gamble to avoid ending the season early. He's tense and very relaxed, you can see that. he's still thinking about the path he just discovered, after tasting it yesterday for the first time with traffic open.
“It will be a tough race,” he says, “and we will have to understand how to manage it well. There are three challenging climbs, short but demanding. My favorite is Remco, let's see how much of a gap he gives us.I passed the last period between ups and downsLet's say there were two choices: see you again in 2025 or try to get back in the game and get here. I chose the latter and we're trying again. We'll see tomorrow how that finish line pans out, what the final result will be. I feel good, come on, it's even warm, it's a beautiful day. Tomorrow should be similar, so morale is high. I shouldn't make any particular technical choicesLuckily, yesterday they cleared the last flat section of road before the steep descent. Let's just say that the choice to do that section wasn't the best, but it's the same for everyone, and we'll see.
Then he turns to Affini, who's speaking next to him, and his thoughts are with his national teammate. "As I said, Edo deserved the European Championship. We've been in the same room since the World Cup in Florence, so…" Being able to see him on the roof of Europe with those colors on fills my heartHe's a friend and he deserves it. When it comes to my Europeans… Already from the Deutschland Tour I understood that it was better to take a breakBut I held firm because, obviously, we also have to honor the team's jersey. And so we've arrived here. Let's not look to the past, let's look to the future. But I want to say something about the future. We'll watch the track world championships together in the stands with a beer in hand...».
The irony of “Guazz”
He heads towards the team car parking lot to return to the Azzurri's hotel, located between the city center and the airport. Shortly before the boys arrive, we had exchanged a few words with Gaia Masetti and Vittoria GuazziniThe first had stopped to reflect on the battered asphalt of that fast, narrow descent, while the second was looking for the right incentive to smile about this route so far from her usual characteristics.
“It’s very challenging,” said the Olympic champion from Madison, “even though the last 12 kilometers are really smooth here on the lake. But first, between climbs and descents, there was not a quiet moment from the altimetric point of view and for the challenging descentsEspecially the last one, before turning onto the lake. So it'll be important to be careful, not take too many risks, and then push where you can. But if I have to say, from what I've seen, it's not a path for meBut I'll try, it's still a world championship."
Zurich flows out, imprisoned with its luxury in one-way streets and closed streets. World Cup week begins, we are up hereWe'll try to tell you everything. And if anything's left out, we'll take it away and look into it further.
