«A new love helps me grow but happiness lasts 15 minutes»- Corriere.it

Once upon a time there was a formidable pistard, capable of evolving at a speed that even Charles Darwin had not foreseen. It is with the desire to test himself in the third Giro d’Italia of his career (fourth major stage race overall, with last year’s Tour in his haversack) that Filippo Ganna da Vignone, Verbano heights, 26 years old, Olympic and world gold in team pursuit and king of the Hour with a monstrous performance (56.792 km), will start on Saturday in the Ineos jersey on the Trabocchi cycle path, on the Adriatic coast of Abruzzo between Fossacesia Marina and Ortona. Declared goal: take the first pink jersey of the Giro 2023 in the 19 km of the individual time trial, like in Palermo in 2020 and in Turin in 2021. To be worn, perhaps, up to the Gran Sasso, the first real mountain along the 3,489.2 km of the race.

Ganna, what challenge does the Giro represent at this point in its journey?

«I get there with the maturation of the person, who has been there, and with the awareness of having done everything to the best of my ability. The next three days of retreat with the team will be decisive for deciding the race strategy. As I am, I would like to be free: to get some satisfaction from the stage, that is, and, if necessary, to work for my captain, the great Geraint Thomas».

The squad immediately is an obligatory step.

«The idea is there. The ideal would be to keep it, without spending too much, as long as you can. But the day when it gets tough you can also race conservatively and then focus on single stages, like in Camigliatello Silano three years ago».

From the track to the road, what a journey has it been, Filippo?

«Ah, so I’m not just a pistard anymore? I’m glad to hear it! Up until the other day it seemed that I was only good indoors, that I didn’t have to leave for the classics because I was a drain. The truth is that it’s all an evolution. The routes, the bicycles, the opponents change. It’s not just me who evolves: the whole group evolves. Every year we go faster, get higher watts and bigger numbers».

Do you feel quite accomplished as a runner?

“On the contrary: I think I’m only at the beginning.”

He always seems dissatisfied. Is it character?

«I think Alex Zanardi is right when he says that the moment you hit the target you feel incomplete. You ask yourself: what do I do now? To start suffering again on the bike, new motivations are needed. But I think it’s part of every job…”

Only Ganna, however, finished second in the Sanremo behind Van der Poel and ahead of Van Aert and Pogacar and said: I’m disappointed.

«Second in Sanremo means first of the losers. More often I see the glass half empty: that’s how I am».

Let’s talk about the moments of happiness, then.

“Happiness lasts fifteen minutes at the most. At 16 minutes I’m ready to get back into the game. It is the mentality of those who want to achieve something, it must be: if you sit down with the first success, it’s over”.

But the criticisms pique.

«If they are constructive, I accept them, not if they are free blows. I have nothing to hide: I prepare for myself, the flag, the pride, the enjoyment of the fan. Don’t I shoot on the Poggio to go after Van der Poel and get criticized? Okay, fine: they are all sports directors from the sofa at home. Once I took it, today I don’t care. I stopped making bitter blood. If anyone wants to criticize, do so. He will waste words in the wind.’

Alice is from Omegna and studies motor sciences at the Cattolica in Milan. Are you part of a new serenity?

«Everything contributes, even the sentimental relationship. With Alice it’s a story born recently, we care about each other, there’s mutual interest: we want to grow together as people, then we’ll see how it ends».

In the pain of cycling, love is a balm.

«Let’s be clear: I’m not a masochist, otherwise I would have been a beater. It’s worse to work in the mine: cycling gives me back a lot of what I give it. Among the various forms of cycling that I practice, from the track to the road, for me a sprint finish where I risk falling is much more dangerous and stressful than a grueling climb done at a strong pace. The most unbearable pain is the one in the last 15′ of the Hour record, when I pushed myself beyond the limit. I’ve never seen myself getting off my bike with wrinkles on my face! At Roubaix, on the stones of the Carrefour de l’Arbre, I pushed but the monsters went away… They are different efforts. On cobblestones, I’m against the fact that I don’t come from cyclocross, so on bumpy roads I have more difficulty than Van der Poel and Van Aert in trusting the bike».

How is this cycling of phenomena seen from the belly of the group?

«I am more impressed by Geraint Thomas, Mr. G, my Ineos captain at the Giro, one who is always ready to fight, even against the younger ones. It’s one thing to struggle at 25, it’s another to sacrifice yourself at almost 37, like him who fought against a very strong Jumbo last year in the Tour. Oh God, if he hears me pointing out his age he’ll send me to hell … ».

The role of the technicians who are closest to her: Dario Cioni in Ineos and Marco Villa in the national team on the track.

«Marco is part of my story: he is the one who brought me to the track. Dario, who was the first to report me to Ineos, I hear from him every day. They are people I blindly trust: it is essential that communication between them is good in order to be able to prepare well in multidisciplinarity. It’s not easy to achieve goals when you have so many, you have to know how to plan».

Five to the Giro, Filippo. What will he pack in the suitcase?

“Then that’s it. On the team bus there will be a second suitcase ready with swimsuit and flip flops. As the Giro ends in Rome, I get on a plane and go to the beach. Top secret destination, phone off.’

And a razor for beard?

«I haven’t cut my beard and hair for months. I look like Yogi Bear»