Interview Alice Maria Arzuffi

5 times Italian vice-champion, winner of 2 Superprestige races and regular competitor on the worldchampionships. Alice Maria Arzuffi has a lot of experience in cyclocross despite that she's still only 26 years old. She doens't know only the world of mud and sand. Road cycling is not unknown for her as well. She took part in some of the biggest road races including the Giro d'Italia. The Italian rider from the 777 Team is a good talker and has many interesting experiences to share. That leaded to this interview.

 

 

5 times Italian vice-champion, how many of your medals would you like to trade to become Italian champion for a year?

At least the last 3 ;). The first two years I was still young compared to the experienced Eva, but then I think the National championship was always on my reach. Some years the courses didn’t suit me super well and last year I was a bit unlucky because I got the tracheobronchitis.

 

You'll be one of the leaders for the Italian team at the worlchampionships in Ostend. What are your ambitions on sandy parcours?

I am curious to see how the course is exactly, but for sure we’ll not miss the sand. At the moment I like the races with sand, even if few years ago I was hating all of them. Racing in Belgium so much helped me a lot to improve my sand skills, even if there are some riders that are better than me.

 

You've won races of the Superprestige series already. How do you look back at them and at what kind of parcours would suit you for another great result?  

I proudly look back to the wins that I got during the past years, especially the first big win in Gavere. The races that I prefer most are the hilly and muddy ones. 

 

You took part in some of the biggest races on the road. Do you also have ambitions in road cycling? 

 During the last years I was concentrated much more in cyclocross, then in the road, even if I still could take part at the biggest races of the calendar. At the moment cyclocross is what I am privileging for the most, but in the future I really would like to give a chance to my self in races like the spring classics.

 

Which impact did the corona pandemic have on your preparation for the cyclocross season? 

I felt really difficult to come back to the normal training on the road after the lock down, because in Italy we were forced to train only inside for 2 months. After the 2019/20 cx season I had a break of 3 weeks without bike and I had to start again the basic training on the rollers. For sure that wasn’t the best preparation for the base training. I also couldn’t race on the road as much as I was used to race during the past years, because the season started later and so I missed the speed when I started the CX season.

 

 

You grew up in a country that had a few of the best cyclists in the world. Did you grew up in a family that told you a million stories about Coppi and Bartali or did you discover the sport yourself?

Even if I am coming from one of the biggest country for cycling, in my family cycling wasn’t really present. The first sport that I have done were swimming, dancing and a bit of basketball. Later on, when I was 11, my cousin Maria Giulia Confalonieri (she one year older than me) decided to start with cycling and so I followed her.

 

Do you miss the spectators at the race?

Yes, I do!!! I really hope that we can come back to the normal racing by the start of the next cx season.

 

 

What is for you the hardest part about cyclocross? And what do you enjoy the most?

The hardest part is keeping to do efforts when the results are coming. As you know, the cyclist’s life is beautiful, but at the same time it needs a lot of dedication. The things that I enjoy the most are for sure the winning, but also the sense of fulfillment when I reach my goals. Then, I also think that cycling teaches us every day with small lessons that we need in the normal life. 

Thank you for the interview, Alice! 

 

Most memorable cycling moments of 2020

2020 has been a memorable year. For most people it was a very unpredictable year with highs and lows, often related to a global pandemic that was rushing through the year. For us cycling fans it's been a short but intensive year. We lost many of our favourite races but from those that remained, we had often the most exciting edition since many years. Here are a few remarkable moments of 2020.

 

19^th December 2020 : Tour de France stage 20

This stage threw many people back in time. One of the best time trialists in the world losing the yellow jersey on the end of the Tour de France in a time trial? That happened to Primoz Roglic but that happened to Laurent Fignon in 1989 as well. This time it wasn't to Greg LeMond but Tadej Pogacar. He kept his countryman from the first Slovenian overeall victory in the Tour de France and became the first Slovenian winner himself. Will we still talk about this time trial in 30 years as well? 

 

18^th October 2020 : Tour of Flanders

A sprint between the two most all round riders of this generation. That happened in the Tour of Flanders this year. When Julian Alpahilippe crashed out the race, they were competing against each other for a big victory once again. They both grew up in the Belgian province of Antwerp and raced already against each other since they were teenagers. A sprint in a monumental classic would be another highlight for the carreer of both men. Van der Poel was the coolest at the line and won it this time. Can Van Aert take revenge in another sprint in Flanders next time?

 

1^st August 2020 : Strade Bianche

Chasing down a 4 minutes gap on your own? No, we're not talking about Eddy Merckx, but about Annemiek van Vleuten. The 37 years old rider from Mitchelton-Scott was stronger then ever before and seemed unbeatable. She managed the race very well and surpassed a very strong Mavi Garcia right before the finish kilometers. She took her 5^th victory in a row and would reward her strong form with the European champion's jersey at the end of the Summer. 

 

4^th October 2020 : Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Worldchampion, Olympic medalist, winner of the biggest classics, but one big race was still missing on the palmares of Elizabeth Deignan. She was in an elite group breakway and decided to go solo when the final began. It seemed long to be a quite easy solo win for Deignan but in the end Grace Brown came very close. It wasn't a dominant win but such a close finish made the race even more exciting and unpredictable. The fact that the third rider was already more then 2 minutes behind, showed how strong both ladies were. Grace Brown wouldn't say with empty hands, because a few days later she would win the Brabantse Pijl after another strong performance. 

 

7^th November 2020 : Vuelta a Espana

The Tour of Spain had only 2 leaders this year, but despite that, the jersey never stayed long on the same pair of shoulders. The race turned into a two men horse race for the red jersey. The two men battled every day for the red jersey and the raceand both seemed to have the upper hand in different stages, what made it very unpredictable for fans. Hugh Carthy and Daniel Martin were never far behind as well and that could have lead to even more suprises. In the penultimate stage, Roglic and Carapaz had their last race for red. Carapaz left Roglic behind but Roglic could maintain the gap and entered Madrid in red the day after.

 

11^th October 2020 : Ghent – Wevelgem

We don't finish our line-up with a victory, but with an event early in the race. Former worldchampion Mark Cavendish did something that never did before in his carreer. The 35 years old rider from Great Brittain won 34 sprints in the Tour de France before and had an expiring contract at his Bahrein – McLaren team. The Manx Misile couldn't impress this in the sprints this season so he chose for another approach. He went in the breakaway and showed his passion for the sport in another way. His words after the race were problably the most emotional words in cycling this year. In the end, the drama finished with a happy end. Mark Cavendish got reward with a contract for 2021 with Deceuninck-Quickstep. He'll be looking forward to a brand new start in 2021 and so are we!

 

 Interview Elisa Balsamo

Italy always had good sprinters. Giorgia Bronzini & Mario Cipollini sprinted to world titles. Alessandro Pettachi & Elia Viviani sprinted to stages in the grand tours. But today we had the opportunity to interview a talented rider from the new generation. Elisa Balsamo is even more then 'only' a sprinter. She performed well in some cobble classics as well. Her Vuelta stage win at the end of the season was another step forward for the 22 years old rider from Piemonte. But what are her ambitions for the future?

 

 

It's been a short but succesfull season for you. How did you experience this year?

It has been a really strange season due to the COVID-19 situation. As I live in Italy, I had to train at home for two months and it has been stressful. Anyway, I worked hard under the directions of my trainer and my nutritionist so that I could re-start the season in a good condition that has grown exponentially. Despite the knee injury I had at the beginning of October, I could achive some other goals at the end of the season.

You've finished the season with a victory in the Vuelta. Do you consider it to be the biggest result in your career or you feel more about your victory in California or your second place in London last season?

I can't say wich result is the biggest, all the three races were different. Winning a stage at "la Vuelta" is surelly a special result (considering the strange year we had), but I would say that also the victory in California has its relevance. I usually don't do a classification of my achievements, they're all special in their different ways.

 

 

 

You're currently one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton. Would you like to keep focusing on the sprints or would you also like to try to develop to a rider for the one day classics?

Next year I'll be focused more on the track, because of the Olympic Games. After them I would like to improve my weakness without loosing my strenghts. Winning a spring classic has always been one of my dreams, so I will work for it.

Giorgia Bronzini was the last Italian worldchampion. Do you also dream about taking the world title in a sprint one day, perhaps next year on the flat course in Leuven?

Asking to a rider if he want's to become a worldchampion is like asking which colour is the sky...of course is one of my dream!!

You already became worldchampion and European champion in the youth categories. How do you prepare mentally for such big goals?

Hard work gives me the awareness of my abilities. Obviously the people next to me also have a fundamental part, thanks to which I find serenity when the anxiety grows

 

At the age of 22, you're still in the begin of your carreer. What are your long term goals?

I don't want to be trivial in saying that winning an Olympic medal and a worlchampon title are my biggest aspirations. Surelly I work hard to grow every year a little bit more, to get more experience after every race and to become a great athlete. I kwon I still have a lot to work on and I'm ready to challenge myself.

What do you enjoy the most? Road cycling or track cycling?

As I said before, I am not used to classifying races, they are all beautiful (or ugly) in their uniqueness and peculiarity.

2020 has been a special year on many ways. What do you wish the world for 2021?

I wish we could all come back to all "normal" lifes, but it doesn't have to mean that we have to forget what this situation taught us as the importance of solidarity and sacrifice for the common good.

Thanks for the interview, Elisa!