Once the job was finished, Giovanni Aleotti put his things back in the car and took the motorway. Four and a half hours, more or less, to get from Novo Mesto to his house in Emilia. In the trunk, in addition to the bike, were the trophy of the Tour of Slovenia, his best victory, and the yellow leader’s jersey.. Isn’t it curious that in this period the ranking shirts are all yellow like gold? We parted ways after the Giro d’Italia talking about the restart and indicating the race in the country of Pogacar and then the Italian championships as the first achievable opportunities and so far things have gone exactly like this. Now all that remains is to pedal towards the Italian championship, then we can finally take a breather.
The turning point in the young career of the Emilian, professional from 2021 at Bora-Hansgrohe, who helped Martinez achieve second place in the Giro, was thanks to a winter finally without ailments and with the beginning of the collaboration with Paolo Artuso. If you put your legs and trust together, something good is sure to come and that’s what happened.
«The Giro at the service of Dani Martinez – he says as the car has recently crossed the border – the fact of being there all three weeks uphill certainly gave me awareness and confidence. Coming here, knowing that I have freedom and being able to demonstrate that I know how to win, certainly makes me very happy. I think I came out of the Giro well. With Paolo we hit the right workload. Not distances of six hours, which perhaps mentally could have brought me down, but what was needed to maintain freshness. And in the end I arrived at the Tour of Slovenia feeling good…”.
Did you spend this recovery period at home or did you go somewhere cool?
I was at home. I trained and then came here by car with Paolo.
How important was the change of coach?
I came from a complicated year, it takes a moment to lose a bit of confidence. Therefore, having found a person who always pushed me to believe and improve myself was certainly very important. I have to thank him because I think that this season, from the Valenciana to the Tirreno, to the Giro and then here to Slovenia, he has really made me take a step forward compared to other years. In the end I would say it was above all a question of consistency in work and the fact that since December I have been able to work well without any problems. Compared to last year, that was definitely a factor. Then it was also fundamental the work done with the new team nutritionist. These things put together, an extra year of experience and then obviously also the head made the difference.
Is it really the most important victory of your career as you said in interviews after arriving?
I would say yes, without taking anything away from the Tour of Sibiu. Slovenia is a great race and there was also a good start list, between those who came from Gro and those who did it as the last race before the Tour. I think of Pello Bilbao, as well as Pellizzari and Mohoric. So that definitely gives me confidence.
Does the victory become a good viaticum on the road to the Italian championships?
The condition is certainly there and at this point also the motivation. The last week of training awaits me before I leave. We will try to do our best, the Italian championship is always a difficult race, a lottery, so we also have to be intelligent and lucky. But I definitely get there motivated. The fact of disconnecting is a physical necessity rather than a mental one, I think I need it. I never really had a moment of recovery from this winter and then preparing for the Giro. So I think resting a bit helps to be competitive in the second part of the season. I’ll stay off for a week and then start again.
Has it ever bothered you to still be listed as unfinished, even though the reasons for your delays were often physical problems?
Of course you always want to do your best. The level we are at now is so high that even just one bad week can affect the outcome of subsequent races. I knew what was happening to me and I think it was important to focus on getting back to feeling good and working consistently. As we said in Rome, at the Giro I had a slightly different task than in other years when I had to work in the central part of the race. This year, having improved on the climbs, the team needed me at the end and so for me it was both a way to help Martinez, but also to measure myself. Being close to him as much as possible I understood something more about my abilities. And if that gave me confidence, go back home, training and coming here to win certainly gives me a lot of awareness. The next step will be to be ready for the goals I will have in the second part of the season.
How complicated was the last stage?
Let’s say it exploded from afar and we could have expected it. But we focused on management, because It’s a moment to get caught up in the moment and do the wrong things, wasting energy. Instead, on the last climb we put everything right. The climb was hard and I was fine and the team put me in a position to hold the race until that final moment.
How do you feel in the leader’s shoes?
Having done the Giro with Martinez, but also many races with Vlasov, I’ve learned to recognize when it’s time to make the call on the radio for the team to intervene. And then we also have very well-trained sports directors. Here was Eisel who certainly has a lot of experience: it is important to have a person who transmits a lot of calm from the car even in the moments when he is there is a risk of becoming agitated.
The journey continues, destination Emilia and then the Italian championship. Aleotti won the tricolor jersey in 2020 among the U23s in Zola Predosa, near his home. This year the finish line is on the other side of the Apennines, on the roads of Alfredo Martini. It will be a lottery, but holding on with victory in your eyes and great sensations in your legs this time won’t really be a problem.
