The next world championships will be held in Glasgow, from 3 to 13 August. And this time it will be like a mini cycling Olympics with all, absolutely all, of the disciplines of this sport. There will also be, for example, indoor cycling (acrobatics) and amateur cycling.
But getting down to more concrete matters, from a preparation point of view, the World Championship is truly a real intrigue. Same Martina Alzini He recently raised the issue. And it will be a big problem, especially for track and road cyclists, who will find themselves competing on the same day. In these cases the most suitable interlocutor is Diego Bragato, who leads the national team's performance staff.
Diego, we were saying that there should even be some overlaps…
Yup, On one day there will be track races and a team relay on the road.
Preparation-wise, it's a great fit. How are you doing?
Actually even before that It's more of a question of organization between the managers of the various national teams and the team manager. Robert Amadio on the management of forces, because in a year there will be the Olympics and choices will have to be made. Therefore, we need to understand what to work on and what to focus on. And in fact, right now I'm waiting for the directives from Villa e Sangalli to find out who will do what… For now we are waiting for the European track championships.
Let's go step by step…
Yes, after this meeting, it will be really important to know the plans in advance to understand, organize, and prepare. The UCI he made this choice to do everything together, a choice that on the one hand is nice for cycling, but on the other, in terms of organization and planning, it doesn't allow you to work at your best.
How important or indicative was theViviani's experience at the European Championships this summer, who ran on the road in the morning and afternoon and was on the track in the evening?
Elia's was an experience for an athlete of a certain level, which is not suitable for everyone. And It's not so easily replicated. And it's one thing to do it for an athlete, and another for the quartet. Choices will have to be made, and I too, I repeat, am waiting for the guidelines.
It's clear…
Our big goal is the Olympics Paris 2024 and this year the qualifiers begin. We are also willing to take a step back on the road to achieve this result: the first thing is the Olympic qualification. And for this reason too, we will be ready for the European Championships.
Do you already have an estimate of the number of athletes who will be involved in Glasgow given the tight schedules between the two disciplines (road and track)?
More or less they are the usual ones: Ganna, at least for the time trial, then Viviani, Consonni. Perhaps Viviani even more so, because the path to the World Championships shouldn't be impossible. And more or less the same goes for Consonni. But the real problem is with women, because all the best on the road, especially for that type of route, are the same as the track ones. and it won't be easy at all.
In this case, are you thinking of a specific preparation that aims above all to eliminate lactic acid and toxins in a short time?
Let's say that in this sense we have our experience, anyway yes: there will be some preparatory work to do to get the body used to switching from the effort of the road to that of the track. And we saw it a bit with Viviani. Therefore It will require a large volume for the street with constant high-intensity track calls. Do these reminders even if you're not 100%. It will require a lot of flexibility from everyone, and that's what we asked for at the beginning of the year... especially from the girls.
Alzini spoke of the serious risk of arriving tired already in the summer…
And that's exactly the risk. And this is especially true for girls: because even if they have similar calendars (now almost the same, ed.) Compared to the men's teams, they don't have such large rosters. They can rotate less. They're looking at some very tough seasons. We coaches will have to be good at getting them through August. And from there, through to the next year, the Olympics. So we need to pace ourselves, already thinking about what's to come the following year.
In short, Diego, the question is not at all trivial…
Not at all. What we're doing is bringing together the requests of the kids, the teams, and the national team. And on this issue, Amadio and the city council will have to act, and are acting, with "lead wire." Great care will be needed.
