What did you appreciate especially of the Gran fondo Colnago courses?
I tested in late summer the Gran Fondo Colnago courses and I could appreciate the difficulty of the track and the variety of areas touched. Despite my past in professional cycling, I never got to explore the trail in its entirety and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised: a path that surely will reward athletes who love hard, hilly roads. I especially liked the mix of climbing and “up and down” of our Valtenesi. You can see many areas, the Lake Garda, the Valsabbia with the ascent “Coste”, the ascent of St. Gallo, the Valtenesi areas between one climb and another one. It is a tough course but certainly not boring!
What kind of difficulties did you face?
The course is tough and will make a selection from the beginning. The greatest difficulty in my opinion is not only the climbs but also the connections between the climbs that make muscles work hard and constantly.We find just several kilometers of lowland between the two ascents, Coaste and St. Gallo, but for all the rest you have to use your energies steadly.
How do you train before a competition like this?
This is certainly a challenging race. The long course is difficult also for the considerable distance, that we women, in World Cup races or International Tours stages, don’t met so often. If the short course is more affordable forlenght and altitude, the long one isn’t certainly a race that you can improvise (especially if you aspire to a good results). You have to consider many aspects of this competition, yu need a training of “distance” which also includes ascents to accustom your body to ride for hours, but also more specific training to train your strengh and endurance in order to face the ascents, also improving the changes of pace and our territories of Valtenesi are perfect for this kind of training.
What are your greatest successes of your career?
The Italian Title and wearing the National Team jersey at the European Championships. The Tricolore jersey are particularly important for me because it was a beautiful and unexpected win. I had started to ride racing bike just four months before! I practiced athletics, but a serious injury to a foot had prevented me to continue my activities so, just for fun, in May of that year I decided to ride some races and a few months later I win the Italian title, such a great satisfaction! My career started from here, taking part of the National Team and wearing the Italy jersey.
