MARCO VILLA. «WE ARE ALREADY WORKING FOR NEXT YEAR AND... LA2028» MISSING PHOTO

INTERVIEW | 29/12/2024 | 08:25
di Giulia De Maio
At the tuttoBICI Oscar Night 2024 we breathed the scent of azzurro. Marco Villa was awarded Coach of the Year with the tuttoBICI Oscar Gran Premio Fondazione Iseni y Nervi.
The track national team coach preceded a colleague, namely the junior coach Dino Salvoldi, and went on stage with one of his champions, the world champion and new world record holder in individual pursuit Jonathan Milan, who topped the professionals.
We had asked a jury of experts to nominate a group of title contenders: the choice fell on Fabio Baldato of UAE Team Emirates, Davide Bramati of Soudal Quick Step, Franco Pellizotti of Bahrain Victorious, Marco Pinotti of Team Jayco AlUla, Roberto Reverberi of VF Group Bardiani CSF Faizané, Dino Salvoldi junior coach, Matteo Tosatto of Tudor Pro Cycling and precisely Marco Villa, track coach, responsible since 2022 for both men's and women's sectors. The readers of tuttobiciweb.it expressed themselves, showing incredible participation (we received something like 116,400 votes, with an increase of over 23% compared to last edition's voters, ed) and at the end of a very balanced challenge, the 55-year-old coach from Abbiategrasso won with 15.2% of preferences.
For the former track rider bronze medalist in the Madison at Sydney 2000 paired with Silvio Martinello, this is the fourth Oscar in his career, after the consecutive trio from 2020 to 2022, and the last pearl of this Olympic season in which track azzurre and azzurri have collected triumphs and records that have given new luster to the entire Italian movement.
Who do you have to thank for this fourth tuttoBICI Oscar?
«To my wife Luisa and our boys Davide, Gianluca and Riccardo because work steals a lot of time from family. I must share it with the entire Italian National Team, starting from the other azzurri coaches because in this Olympic year we shared choices aimed at medals with a multidisciplinary approach. Viviani and a Balsamo not at their best, lined up by Bennati and Sangalli in the Paris 2024 road race, were a "sacrifice" for my road colleagues that proved winning on the track. I share this award with them, as well as with Ivan Quaranta, Diego Bragato, Fabio Masotti and the entire staff coordinated by Roberto Amadio (in Paris were present masseurs Fred Morini, Mattia Treglia, Piero Baffi, Mauro Pigliapoco, Marco Bertini, mechanics Jo Carini, Max Cisotto, Lucio Parravano, secretary Paola Butrico, psychologist Elisabetta Borgia and doctor Antonio Angelucci). It was a long and tough season, rich with important events, to which the five-ring challenge was added. We managed everything well, without sacrificing the Junior and Under 23 youth sector, so my praise goes to every group member».
The second place in this special ranking by Dino Salvoldi, triumphant at the Zurich World Championships with Lorenzo Mark Finn, is the emblem of a team success of the National Team.
"Yes, we now have a well-established work system that we hope to continue to carry forward. Regarding preparation, we leave nothing to chance, neither for the big nor the small, and thanks to the National Team partners, we can provide performance bikes and materials even to young athletes. The victory of the Under 23 quartet with Renato Favero, Luca Giaimi, Manlio Moro, Niccolò Galli (and Samuel Quaranta in the qualifications) at the European Championship confirms that we have good human and technical material at our disposal. The season that is about to officially conclude has been particularly intense for the Juniors, who were already performing very well last year, with the train composed of Favero-Fiorin-Giaimi-Sierra becoming world champions in Colombia, and this year Ares Costa, Christian Fantini, Alessandro Magagnotti, and Davide Stella (plus Eros Sporzon in the qualifications) have confirmed Italy in the world jersey, with a new category world record (3'51"199)".
A season review can only revolve around the Paris 2024 Games.
"It was the goal of the last three years. I aimed for a medal in every discipline we were qualified for, and we succeeded in the team pursuit with Lamon, Consonni, Ganna, and Milan, and in the Madison for both men and women. I regret the omnium, but especially the women's quartet that couldn't express itself at its best because a key element like Elisa Balsamo was not in perfect condition due to accidents. I was sorry that with the other girls she couldn't win a medal, and I understand she was disappointed when I didn't field her for the Madison, sending Chiara Consonni to the track, who had performed well in Ghent and at the previous World Championship, when both Guazzini and Balsamo were injured. Seeing Balsamo struggling both on the road and with the quartet in the second test's finale made me decide to preserve her. That Chiara and Vittoria then won is another story, and they deserve the glory, but Elisa is an undisputed talent and will prove it".
With the federal elections in view, how does the CT spend the winter?
"Waiting for the new four-year period, I move forward as I'm used to. In February 2025, we have the European Championships in Zolder already planned, for which boys and girls will do a good base training on the road. We are currently conducting the traditional year-end and early 2025 training camps at the Montichiari velodrome. After the necessary track recalls, in January we'll do a second block of work in warm conditions, then conclude the preparation with specific track training in preparation for the trip to Belgium. Then? So far, I've been put in a position to work well, and the results show it. I still want to give it my all, I would like to continue to hold this role and get to work on renewing the group for the next five-ring appointment".
Viviani has said goodbye to the track, and Ganna will focus on the road. How are these two flagbearers of Italian track cycling replaced?
"First, let's see if we'll really have to do that... (smiles slyly, ed.). With Elia in Paris, I said goodbye to him saying 'I want you in LA', without specifying in what role. I'd like to have him as a CONI or FCI man, I threw that out there. I read Filippo's statements saying he won't participate in world championships and world cups, but he'll come to train on the track. I don't see much difference from recent times, and now that's fine. In three years, I'll bug him to change his mind, and maybe I'll succeed".
Simone Consonni wants to aim for a medal in the Omnium at Los Angeles 2028.
"In the opportunities he's had, he's always been ready. I'll give space to deserving young athletes, but I've never thought of 'throwing away' the old ones, with all due respect to the guys who won gold in Tokyo in 2021. I'm pleased with Simone's desire to chase a fourth Olympic medal, especially because a Consonni on the team until Los Angeles will provide a lot of experience to the young ones. It's also convenient for Lamon to continue with the discipline that has given him the greatest successes. It's now clear that to win gold at the Games, you must set a world record, it's not easy to continue shaving off seconds, we'll have to work hard, without ever feeling like we've arrived".
According to his identity card, Jonathan Milan will be at the peak of his career in 2028.
"I'm happy he has grown so much and that he wins more and more, both on the road and on the track. At the last World Championship in Ballerup, I thanked the Englishman Josh Charlton, who got in the way between Jonny and Pippo, so when the former set the new world record (in 3'59"153 at a supersonic average of 60.212 km/h, ed.) he didn't beat Ganna's time but that of the one who had beaten Ganna, and I was able to rejoice with more freedom. We'll have four years to reorganize the quartet, I wish those who will be considered to have the 'problem' of managing the double activity, as those who won in Japan have had to do so far. It's undeniable that this dual commitment has made them grow both on the road and on the track".
In the women's field, age also smiles upon us.
"The blue women racing in Paris and Los Angeles will be in their full athletic maturity. The path of the Americans, with Kristen Faulkner winning the Olympic title on the road and then with the quartet, is one more example that will give us confidence to continue with a multi-objective approach. If the road path is still unknown, the track is always the same, and I hope we can work together to have one or two more men and just as many women in the race. Among the new talents, I expect a lot from Federica Venturelli, who also at the last World Championship demonstrated her great talent. She finished fourth by a little, due to a fatigue management error, which is normal since she was used to a two-kilometer effort, which becomes three with the Elites. She already competes in Olympic disciplines like Madison and omnium, she'll be an additional card to add to equally strong athletes who have already gained experience at the highest levels in Saint Quentin en Yvelines".
Other names, besides Moro, that can give us satisfaction?
"I'm sorry I didn't let Manlio race in Paris, but I followed the regulations to the letter. Seeing how the English behaved (they replaced an athlete for a simple muscle fatigue, ed.), we could have risked and fielded him in the first round and then replaced him, but the IOC always told us that judges would be strict in accepting medical certificates. In hindsight, I could have let him have this experience, and it would have changed the face of our quartet, as it was really going fast, but I needed multidisciplinary athletes like Consonni and Viviani to then field for the Madison. Between World Cups, World Championships, and European Championships, Giaimi, Favero, Sierra, Grimod, and Costa have stood out, who besides being good in the quartet, know how to move in group races, which are crucial for the Olympic program".
The speed sector grows and gives hope.
"Yes. Paris came too early for our sprinters, primarily Mattia Predomo, who went from the junior world title directly to the big cups during the Olympic qualification with athletes with one or two Olympics behind them, but now they are more advanced compared to their endurance-specialized peers. Since the first points valid for Olympic qualification will be put up for grabs two years before the Games, we have two more years to take measurements, and by 2028 the guys will arrive with six years of work that, I'm certain, will make the difference. The generational change is there, and the recent youth World Championships in Luoyang, China, confirmed it with Fabio Del Medico winning the Keirin tournament. As happened with the quartet, having a large group is an advantage, internal challenges to secure a spot are positive and unequivocally raise the overall level".
At the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one, what do you ask?
"To be able to work as I have in these years and, if possible, even better. We have shown that the winning system is a multidisciplinary one. I don't want to complain, but I still encounter skepticism from many teams. When Villa calls, not everyone responds present, it's annoying, while my road colleagues receive more attention. Paradoxically, I have more problems with youth teams than with professionals, but just look reality in the face to confirm that engaging in multiple disciplines leads to the best athlete growth. The latest example for everyone is Milan, who worked a month and a half in Montichiari for the Olympics, without touching a road bike, and ten days after the bronze in the quartet, he won three stages in the Tour of Germany. Even without a road bike, he came out trained and well trained. I would like to continue working with a multidisciplinary group. I guarantee that when Italian boys and girls triumph on the road, I feel the same emotion as when they win on the track".
An emotion also experienced at the tuttoBICI Oscar Night, where at the end of 2024 Villa beats Milan 4-2 in statuettes.

from tuttoBICI December issue