We talk more often about road cyclists who switch to mountain biking, the opposite happens more rarely and with the national mountain bike team's citizen, Mirko Celestino, We talked about it trying to understand what characteristics an aspiring road biker should have.
The Austrian of the Bahrain-McLaren, Herman Pernsteiner (in the opening photo) is one of those "salmon cases," that is, those who go against the grain. Yes, because it's one thing to be a young mountain biker who quickly switched to road riding. And it's another to be a young rider who, at the end of their career, changed disciplines, switching from road riding to mountain biking. One of the first was precisely Celestino, then Simoni, Casagrande, Chiarini. Then followed by some French and Spanish pros.
Road racers are born…
"Today everything is exaggerated and everything is brought to the point of detail," says Celestino, "and it's not easy to move from one discipline to another. And you don't even have to think about Van der Poel: He's unique. The road racer who switches to mountain biking needs technique. The biker who switches to road riding needs experience and the ability to stay in a group.
"I remember Cadel Evans. He arrived at the Saeco He had won the MTB World Cup but was really "limited" at the beginning. He didn't know how to stay in the group: either he was on the outside because he was afraid or at the back, 10 meters from the last because he didn't know how to stay in the group. On descents above 60 km/h, he would stiffen. But then he put in the effort and little by little... look where he got! This last sentence contains the whole crux of our article. This is why the "salmon" are so few.
You can learn mountain biking later, but not road biking. Road riding is something you learn as a child.
Mirko Celestine
Biker and modern road
"I think that the biker, whether marathon or cross-country," Celestino continues, "is well suited to modern cycling. We used to start slowly and the real racing was in the last 60-70 kilometers. Now, at kilometer zero, it's already a brawl. If you started at the start in my day, a captain would come and throw a water bottle at your head. These sprint starts, like the prologues and time trials, are ideal for bikers, who are used to going full steam ahead from the first meter and doing it alone. That's why tactics could be a limitation."
And that tactics are a limitation is true. Last year, Pernsteiner himself was rejected by his team for the Line of Business as in a race he closed on his teammate, Antonio Nibali. The Austrian justified himself by saying that he was not used to these tactics, but he had to wait a year to compete in the Giro d'Italia.
Tormena and Avondetto
«If I have to name current bikers who could pass on the road, I'm hard pressed, but not because I don't think they're up to it, but because I truly see them as bikers, physically and mentally.
«It comes to mind Gaia Tormena (former world champion in the Eliminator) and in fact I put her in contact with Dino Salvoldi. I immediately saw the track in her. Her manner, her concentration, her fierce look, her explosiveness. An Eliminator round lasts a minute and a half and can be compared to certain track specialties. Dino told me she has a lot of work to do, but that the athlete is there. And in fact, she was called up for the European U23 Track Championships.
«Among our guys if I had to judge the engine, the twins Braidot or Kerschbaumer They would be up to par, but as I repeat, I struggle to see them as road racers overall. If I really had to name them, I'd say Simone Avondetto, Because in addition to having a good engine, he also has uncommon grit. He falls and gets up again, he's detached, but he never gives up; he's always on the ball and could adapt well."
