Second in the general classification at Belgrade-Banjaluka, after winning a stage and being on the podium two other times. We are talking about a level 2.2 race, certainly not a classic on the world calendar, but it is useful for give morale to someone like Davide Toneatti, who barely emerged from a truly unfortunate 2023. On the Serbian roads the standard bearer of the Astana Development Team above all rediscovered that feeling with the two wheels that at certain moments last year seemed lost.
His voice, after the race in Serbia, is evidently more relaxed, the result is the best medicine after the difficulties faced: «I know well that the level of the race was what it was – he admits – but the participation wasn’t bad, Furthermore, it is a race that has been on the calendar for years and many teams always include it in their agenda. It was a fairly varied race, with the first stage being flat, then a more choppy one where I won in a sprint, the third which was the hardest with 3,100 meters of altitude difference and 180 kilometers to tackle and I finished 3rd, and finally the last one flat and I was third there too.”
You have always been the protagonist, something that last year seemed at a certain point to have become a utopia…
My consistency at that level was certainly influenced a lot by the desire to make up for it. Sitting still for 8 months last year certainly didn’t help my growthbut I know that this winter I was finally able to work well, putting my physical problems behind me, I knew that there were all the conditions to come out into the open.
In the 23 days of competition put aside so far, you have achieved 8 appearances in the top 10 in addition to the victory in Vlasenica. Now we talk about you as a road racer, putting aside that dichotomy between road and cyclocross that distinguished you…
This is very important for me, it means that I start to take on a full identity on the road which is what I want. I need to find my dimension, last year I was almost always looking at others, Now I’m starting to find some confidence in my abilities.
Are you also starting to understand which racing situations suit you best?
I prefer challenging routes, when the climbs make the difference and thin out the group. The medium-short climbs are where I feel best, on the long ones I’m still missing something even if I see that I’m more and more resistant and I’m improving. There is progress, I hope there will also be progress in the remainder of the season.
Now what awaits you?
The first part of the season is over, now I’ll do a couple of weeks at altitude to be at the Tour of Japan where I will go to do the ranking considering the characteristics of the stages. Then we’ll see what the calendar brings.
What is the atmosphere like within the team, also considering the changes taking place in the Astana complex, which is undergoing a complete transformation in terms of characteristics?
The atmosphere is good, that of the devo team is really a nice group, very close-knit, made up of friends who also feel like we are outside of our business. This then helps a lot in the race because everyone works together towards a single goal which is the victory of one of us.
With the first team, beyond the calls as it was for you with the trip to Oman, are there any contacts?
I know that they are constantly watching us, that there is daily contact between the directors of the two teams. The intention is to replenish the WorldTour team with young people as soon as possiblefresh forces to continue that work of renewal.
You also raced the Giro d’Abruzzo with the first team, what was that experience?
First of all, I have to say that the team made me race without pressure. It’s clear that we were all working for Lutsenko and it was immediately clear that he had a good leg. At the start, ours didn’t seem like a team worthy of UAEwith me and another guy from the devo team, however in the end, by working together we managed to subvert the predictions.
How did you find it?
I must say that those four days were very instructive, I learned a lot and even in situations when I was called into question, like for example in the first phase of the Prati di Tivo climb where I had to pilot it a bit, it was exhilarating. His victory was the victory of the whole team, I think it also influenced my subsequent results in Serbia.
