Interview: Cesare Benedetti

Interview: Cesare Benedetti

For the first time of the short history of this blog, we had the honour to have an interview with a World Tour rider. We had an interview with Cesare Benedetti, winner of a stage in Giro d'Italia. The 32 years old Italian is living in Poland now and is already serving Bora-Hansgrohe and his predecessors since 2010. Let's get to know him better by a small interview. 

You're in the same team for 10 years now, what is your best memory so far in your career? 

In 10 years time you collect plenty of memories. I’d like to remind my first podium in a stage of Tour of Britain 2011 behind Thor Ushovd in the World Champion jersey and Lars Boom, that was a big satisfaction for me. My first Milan-Sanremo with Peter Sagan in the team belongs to the best memories of my career as well. I did exactly what I had to do and then left him at the bottom of the Poggio. When I got at the finish to find out he had finished second, there was a big mix of emotions coming inside myself. We didn’t win but I’ll remember that day because of the big feelings which it created.

 

What are your goals for this season?

The goals of my season are the same as every year. I am not a rider who can target some goals. I can not even decide about my calendar, the team does it for me. I just get to the meeting and to find out what my races are but I can’t say much about it. That’s why my goal is always the same, be as good as possible in every race I will take part in, in order to help the team to win races and to fulfil my duties.

You're living in Poland now. Is cycling as popular, as in Italy?

Well, I might say I leave with my team. Training camps, races, stage races. I am almost never home. I don’t even know what should I call home now. I am sometimes in Trentino and sometimes in Poland and I am very proud about it. Unfortunately, especially in winter, training in Poland isn’t always possible. As a professional rider you need to train always at your 110% and sometimes you need to look for warmer places then. Cycling in Poland is becoming more and more popular but it was already very popular in the past. At the time of the “Peace Race” they used to be the finish line in the stadiums and there were thousands of people watching it. Nowadays more and more people ride bikes for fun and to keep healthy and the cycling market in Poland is quite on fire I would say.

 

What is your favourite race, and why?

It’s difficult to choose only one. I always loved the Tour of Britain (I raced it three times and the last one was a long time ago unfortunately, in 2013) because I like the British atmosphere, the landscape, the roads crowded with spectators, the hotels and the breakfast 🙂. I’ve got only good memories from the three editions I have raced.

What are your hobbies outside of cycling?

I’m always looking for some hobbies but unfortunately I haven’t got any. Wasting time is my favourite hobby, despite knowing that life might be very short, I don’t find motivation for anything else apart from cycling .

 What is your favourite kind of music?

I like old music, my soul has been always old as well, even when I was a teenager. I like mainly the Beatles, the music of Paul McCartney in his after Beatles career (I attended 4 times Paul’s concerts and I can guarantee that the feeling and emotions I got watching him, were way way better than winning a stage in Giro haha) and the King, Elvis Presley. There are some other artists from the 60s/70s/80s then but I can not say I like all their music.

 

How did you started competing in cycling? 

I used to play football, then one day in 1999 I went to watch the start of a Giro stage and liked the atmosphere between the riders. I decided I want to be one of them and 1,5 month later I went to sign up for the nearest cycling club. That’s how it happened.

 

 Who was your cycling idol as a child?

I have never had a big idol, but when I was a kid it was the greatest time for Gilberto Simoni and as we came from the same region, I used to cheer for him of course. On the other hand I was always amazed by the sprints and the sprinters.

We want to thank Cesare Benedetti for helping us with this interview. We really appreciate the time he reserved for us. Good luck fo the coming season!