«After cycling I run into politics. My priority? No more roads with death traps»- Corriere.it

«NoI don’t remember anything from 80 meters before the finish to the day after the race. They saved my life and then operated on excellent public service doctors. The Roubaix trophy, on the other hand, is on the bulletin board, now I would like to go into politics to take care of others as they took care of me ». Last March a defibrillator and a doctor saved Sonny Colbrelli’s life at the Tour of Catalonia, but they also sanctioned his farewell to cycling just 6 months after his greatest triumph, that at Paris-Roubaix.

Colbrelli, today you are running with Forza Italia in the Lombardy Regional Council. How did the application come about?

«A friend, Senator Adriano Paroli, asked me. I said yes as long as I could deal mainly with sports ».

«Encouraging children to exercise to fight obesity and addiction to mobile phones and video games and taking them away from bad company. For me, cycling has straightened out a life that could have gone badly. Sport is health, safety, personal growth».

What do you want to start with?

«From the streets that can no longer be death traps, from the children who can’t always train in the parking lots of hypermarkets after they close so as not to risk their lives. You don’t ride in a cage».

«In Spain the Highway Code requires motorists to keep 1.5 meters away from cyclists when overtaking: there are a quarter of the dead compared to Italy. This is needed to honor the memory of champions like Scarponi and Rebellin, who were killed by cars, and to protect those who use their bikes to shop, go to work or have fun».

“Useful in urban centres. But respect for those who pedal must be valid on any road: cyclists and pedestrians are the ones who risk the most».

What do you think of the 30mph speed limit in the city?

She began as a part-time cyclist: at dawn in the factory unloading pipes, in the afternoon training.

«It was the only solution to support me. And it’s a principle to share: hard work pays off, without sacrifices a boy can achieve nothing. Behind my victory at Paris-Roubaix 2021 there are hundreds of unloaded trucks.

What do you like about politics?

«That you have to put your face into it and fight to get results. And that if you promise something then you have to keep it sweating until the finish line».