Roberto Corsetti, cardiologist who for years worked as a doctor for Fassa Bortolo, Liquigas and Quick Step and today he lends his work to B&B Medical Center in Imola, is one of those who He has always been very careful about the nutrition of his riders. And by his own admission He's one of those who used to sit near the riders' table during meals.. So hearing what he has to say about the complex relationship between riders and food will ultimately prove interesting.
«Professional athletes – he says – but more generally everything that revolves around professionalism have the result as their only yardstickIf we start from this assumption, to achieve it we must reach the maximum level of performance. The sacred texts of physiology say that two factors that can be improved are power and weightThe riders may not accept it, we can discuss it, but those are the only two points."
So far, so good, but sheer thinness compromises power. So, by no means is shedding weight the only guarantee of performance.
In fact, I get angry and nervous if the goal of weight reduction is achieved with oppression or incorrect methods. I think instead that if a cycling professional conveys how to reduce weight in a friendly, kind and competent way, things work. If excesses occur, whoever was supposed to broadcast it did it badly.Or the rider may have misunderstood and then needs help.
What position does Corsetti fit in?
I come from the school of great masters and I have always tried to convey these concepts in the most correct way possible. I don't think I've put any of my athletes in trouble because of their weight.Nor in my experience have I ever seen any imposition or coercion. But if someone says Corsetti wants the athlete to know that their results depend on their weight, then I say yes.
Are you aware that food is a sensitive topic for athletes, and some have eating disorders? According to psychologists and doctors we spoke to, a doctor notices this.
I've never had any, but I've had very thin athletes. Without naming names, with Ferretti in a training camp. we noticed a boy who was too thin for that time of yearWe took him into a room with us and explained to him that it was too much.
It seems that young people are the ones most at risk of falling into it…
The message from above, if it does not arrive clearly and documented or is not presented in all its implications, in a fragile person it can create imbalances. Certainly if there are eating disorders, responsibility must be sought in several places.
Has Corsetti ever happened to stand near the riders' table and watch them eat?
I believe that a sports director or a doctor who wants to stay close to the riders' table to help them is positiveIt can help ensure that meals, often dinner, go smoothly. However, if the athlete feels inadequate because of food and experiences this presence badly, ambiguity is created.. If you are next to the table and it happened to me often, You have to be able to read the athletes' eyes if there is something wrong. It takes conversation and presence, it takes competent and passionate staff. Sometimes I look back…
And what do you see?
I think about athletes who never received nutritional education and threw away their careersI'm not talking about obligation or coercion, just simple politeness. I'm thinking of those who had incredible potential, to the point of intimidating their strongest opponents, but who chose to let themselves go.
From this point of view, do you think the addition of a nutritionist to teams is appropriate?
All the most competent professionals are useful in this training path. But everyone must speak the same language, otherwise, given the many roles encountered in a team today, there is a risk that athletes will receive messages that create confusion.
Clear messages are key, as is transparency. The collection of voices and opinions continues. They told us about a character who at the beginning of the season demanded from his athletes the same weight as in the last race: What is documented in this?
Our investigation, in which we involved Dr. Corsetti, aims to give younger riders the awareness that Weight and power are certainly two determining factors, but health comes firstRereading Bongiorno's words, Brajkovic's disarming ones, and all the others we've recounted in recent weeks should make it clear that obsessive thinness leads straight to the end of one's career.
IN PREVIOUS ARTICLES
Eating Disorders: A Dark Disease That No One Talks About
Eating disorders: Cimolai intervenes
Eating disorders: "It's a bad thing."
Eating Disorders: An Interview with Brajkovic
Eating Disorders: "Open Those Doors"
Eating disorders: sometimes the environment affects
Eating Disorders: Aru Has Something to Say, Too
Eating Disorders: Good morning, it was almost anorexia
