FLORENCE – The time for Roglic to talk about how gratified he feels in being part of the Red Bull project and how high the level of the clash will be, and Tadej Pogacar enters the City Council room. The usual kind smile, the seemingly distracted look and a greeting every time he meets a familiar face. Even though he is not the outgoing winner, there is a certain air of predestination around the Slovenian, which he with his usual candor does not even try to divert.
The press conference schedule follows a tight schedule, so after the winner of the Giro Vingegaard will arrive and we will finally know or try to understand his conditions. In the streets that lead from Piazza della Signora to Piazzale Michelangelo, teams pass by one after the other, encouraged by the cheering of the people.
Not all roses and flowers
Meanwhile Pogacar speaks It seems that the magic of the Giro has never stoppedalthough compared to Matxin’s stories, we will soon discover that in recent weeks life has not been so fairytale.
“I’m where I want to be,” says the pink jersey, “the first week after the Giro was a good time. A bit of relaxation and then I started training for the Tour de France. It all went by very quickly and I’m super happy to be here already. We will see from the first stages who has the legs and is in good shape. I expect everyone to be and that I’m not the only one to watch.
«I had already started training hard – now the tone suddenly changes – when I moved back home because of my grandfather’s death. I went to be close to family. A long journey, I know, but it was important to me. And then, when I returned to retreat, after a few days I got Covidbut in the end it wasn’t too challenging. I think the virus is not as serious as it was a few years ago, especially if you’ve had it before. I think I’ve had it a couple of times and evidently my body has gotten used to living with it. I was without a bike for a whole day, the next day I trained on the rollers and then, since I was healthy again, I resumed with the normal program.”
Mistakes are paid dearly
Questions follow one another, the noise in the square forces the windows to be closed. He stands up to any argument, with the light smile of someone who is not afraid.. Not even when they ask him where his determination comes from, since he seems to come from an overall easy childhood, and he replies that maybe something happened and he removed it. Maybe a goldfish died on him…
«I think my relationship with Vingegaard – he continues – is something extraordinary. We always meet more or less once a year, in July.. I really appreciate this rivalry because I respect him a lot and it’s nice to see him at the start. I think he is ready, otherwise he wouldn’t have come. I can’t wait to get started and we’ll try to put on a great show again, hoping this time to reverse the ties. I’ll have to be good at not making mistakes. Over the last two years I’ve made some and paid for them. Physically I think I’m ready, then it’ll all be a mental game. Three weeks is a crazy amount of time to race and stay in shape. If last year’s Tour had been a classic or a week-long race, I probably would have been in the best shape of my life. Instead I found that three weeks was too long for my body. I’m fine now, but anything can happen. We’ll have to pay attention to every detail.
«I think this year we will have great competition – he continues – winning the Giro was quite difficult, but here we will find a profoundly different climate. The Tour is always one of the hottest races. But every year that passes, I face it differently. I’m getting better and now I see that I don’t like the big cold anymore and this certainly didn’t happen two years ago. On the other hand, I improved a lot in the heat. I think I’m ready for this hot summer.”
Third week unknown
When Vingegaard arrives, he also has Wout Van Aert and Fabio Jorgenson alongside him. This one, we think watching him walk all gangly, has won the last two Tours. The fall of the Basques stopped him for a long time, but for some time, reading the declarations and talking to the riders, he came to the suspicion that the Dane is much fitter than he wants us to believe.
«I’m simply happy to be here – he says – at the start of the Tour de France. I think it’s already a victory, I’m very happy and looking forward to starting. The hardest part of it all was getting back to the same level. I had to make a long stop and waiting for any wounds to heal before I could train properly. It’s one thing to start cycling, but another when you can start real training. So I hope I have put together a condition that will allow me to get to the third week.”
With Pogacar zero relationships
He doesn’t say much, he doesn’t seem to want to unbutton himself. His opponent is so sunny and capable of keeping everything inside the Dane who up until now has always responded to the other’s sparkling outbursts with a few verbal blows. They are also different on the bike.
«It’s news to me that Tadej had Covid – he replies – you’re telling me now, I never knew what his health was like. We don’t have a great relationship, we never spoke after my accident.. But I think from the moment we get here, we’re all in the same situation. At the beginning of the race I will just have to fight to resist and later I will find the right numbers. We’ll find out in the next few days.
«I’ve done a lot of work, lots of good work and I’m not doing too bad, even though the press was often negative about my chances. I faced the last three months knowing that it was the hardest moment of my career. In certain situations you only think about reacting rather than feeling sorry for yourself. and that’s what I did with my family, trying everything possible to prepare for this race.”
The hope of winning
All things considered, Van Aert also recounts his laborious ascent from the fall. He explains that he still has some fears about jumping into the sprint and adds that it will certainly be of help in the flat and uphill stages if the condition improves.
“If I get a result,” Vingegaard sighs before getting up, “I’ll be very happy. If it hadn’t been for the fall, I would definitely say I’m here for the win. But obviously in the last three months things have changed. So, of course, I still have hope that I am strong enough. At least to fight for victory…».
He’s leaving too, they’re all leaving. Palazzo Vecchio is seething with computers and journalists, while in Piazza della Signoria the last teams parade towards Piazzale Michelangelo. The 111th Tour de France is about to begin and it will set sail from Florence. As Bettiol rightly said, all departures are beautiful, but Florence is Florence…
