NADIA QUAGLIOTTO. "A NEW CHALLENGE WITH COFIDIS AND THEN... THE 'VAN DER POEL MISSION'"

INTERVIEW | 17/01/2025 | 08:14
di Giorgia Monguzzi
As with every respectable start of the season, it's time for the first races in warm countries, but also to get familiar with new teams and the results of a market cycle that, between transfers and confirmations, is always very challenging. Nadia Quagliotto has decided to celebrate her tenth year in the elite category by launching herself into a new challenge with the French team Cofidis, with which she has signed a two-year contract. After two years in Spain with Laboral, the twenty-seven-year-old athlete from Montebelluna has set off on yet another adventure with the desire to get back in the game and prove her worth.

"During the winter, I barely took a break from the bike, maybe two weeks but no more. My last race was on October 20th in China, and from there I flew directly to Lille for the first meeting with the new team. I was the first to arrive and found myself having lunch and dinner with the team managers of both the women's and men's formations. It was something strange, but it allowed me to get to know the new environment right away. It's a calm and professional team with a great structure behind it. I was very well received and I'm happy to have found Martina Alzini again, who helped me settle in. We're the same age and as juniors, we were often together, on the track and in the national team. We got along very well, but then we took different paths, our calendars never coincided, and we lost touch. It was strange to meet again, but absolutely beautiful," Nadia explains, who these days is in Mallorca to prepare for her racing debut. Talking to her is always something special because alongside the seriousness of the athlete, she has the spirit of someone who has learned to face everything with a smile, maybe even joking about it, but always giving 100% in her work. When she told us about her team change a few months ago, she herself exposed the biggest problem she would face: French. After two years of almost Spanish citizenship, a language change was necessary, so she dusted off her high school studies with books and tutoring to be prepared. "I did the tourism track, after all, it must have been good for something," she says, laughing.

Nadia is a kind of globetrotter, she loves finding new stimuli, but above all, she can't help but challenge herself and push her limits. In the group, she's one of those responsible for lifting morale, a way to approach cycling differently, especially by finding all its positive sides. Despite appearances, things have not always gone smoothly for the Veneto athlete; in fact, at a certain point, her career entered a tunnel from which she risked not escaping. It was hard to continue after the Covid year with Cronos Casa Dorada, where she practically raced only a handful of races. She managed to do so thanks to those who gave her a chance and especially believed in her. Walter Zini was the first to bet again on Nadia as an athlete; in 2021, he welcomed her to Be Pink, offering her a restart, and then came Laboral, where she was practically reborn and found herself. "I think my meeting with Walter Zini was fundamental in my career. He wanted me in the team, believed in me, and I rediscovered the desire to fight. In 2020, I had placed many hopes in Casa Dorada, but things didn't go well, and I completely blocked myself, unable to move forward," Nadia continues. "The big change, however, came thanks to Team Laboral. I owe them a lot because they understood how to handle me and help me rediscover my great love for cycling. In mid-2023, they removed my leadership role; they understood that pressure was making me uncomfortable, they calmed me down, they gave me confidence. More than physically, I worked a lot on my mental state. I found a serene environment with the right people who helped me put the pieces back together and live everything with more serenity. There's still a lot to work on, but I believe I'm on the right path to race without fear and give my all."

The adventure with Cofidis marks a new beginning for Nadia Quagliotto, who has already set a very clear objective: to return to winning. Her last success dates back to the 2022 Giro del Ponente in Rosa, but in the meantime, the Veneto athlete has become a great team player and a point of reference for her teammates. In the Laboral house, she was a fundamental element of a team that in recent seasons has made itself heard powerfully in the world of women's cycling, as demonstrated by the beautiful words spoken by her teammates or the emotion of her team managers on the day of her last race. The 2025 season will start in Spain with the Mallorca trilogy, then the Valencian round, the Omploop, a block of races in Italy without white roads, and then back north with Flanders and Amstel, with the rest to be seen along the way. Now the goal is to improve both in one-day races and attempt to assault a stage in a multi-stage race, but above all, to finally raise her arms to the sky. "Certainly in the team, I will have a dual role: I will support my teammates, but there will also be many opportunities for me to have my space. I would really like to return to winning," Nadia tells us, who can't wait to get back to racing. The desire to do is great, as is the desire to redeem herself. One must not forget that among the objectives is always that of improving her French and becoming more relaxed in banter with her teammates, but also a very particular mission: to meet Mathieu Van der Poel. "He's a rider with a unique style that I really like. I always watch his races on television, but now I'd say it's time to take things to another level."

COMMENTI

Per poter commentare i post devi esser registrato.
Se sei giá nostro utente esegui il login altrimenti registrati.

TBRADIO

00:00

NEWS

INEOS GRENADIERS: NON LASCIAMO IL CICLISMO, MA CERCHIAMO UN PARTNER

Sono stati per anni i numeri uno del ciclismo, anche se da qualche stagione stanno vivendo un periodo di difficoltà. Non hanno annunciato colpi di mercato ad effetto e, anzi, hanno visto Tom Pidcock lasciare la formazione britannica per accasarsi...

LETTERA APERTA

MARCELLO TOLU CI RISPONDE: «SARO' ANCHE UN POSTINO, MA PIUTTOSTO VELOCE»

Egregio Direttore, ho letto un po' stupito il Suo commento alla lettera aperta della Consigliera Serena Danesi pubblicata ieri su Tuttobiciweb. Preso atto del contenuto della comunicazione della sig.ra Danesi mi trovo costretto, per ripristinare la verità dei fatti riferibili...

PROFESSIONISTI

PEDERSEN: «VENGO AL GIRO PER VINCERE IL PIÙ POSSIBILE. AL TOUR CI SARÀ MILAN»

In attesa di capire esattamente quali saranno i big in lotta per la classifica generale, il Giro d’Italia 2025, dopo Wout Van Aert, si arricchisce di un altro fuoriclasse delle corse di un giorno: Mads Pedersen. Il fortissimo danese della...

GIUSTIZIA

LA COMMISSIONE ETICA DELL'UCI SOSPENDE DUE DIRIGENTI BELGI PER CONDOTTA SESSUALE INAPPROPRIATA

La Commissione Etica dell'UCI – un organo che agisce indipendentemente dall'amministrazione della Federazione Internazionale – annuncia le sue decisioni nel caso che coinvolge due membri della direzione dell'UCI Women's Continental Team Velopro – Alphamotorhomes (precedentemente Proximus - Cyclis CT, tesserato...

SOCIETA'

TREK. AMBROGIO GRILLO E' IL NUOVO SALES MANAGER DI TREK SOUTH EUROPE

Trek, leader mondiale nello sviluppo e nella produzione di biciclette e accessori di alta qualità, annuncia la nomina di Ambrogio Grillo a nuovo responsabile delle vendite per il mercato di Trek South Europe. Grillo, che vanta un'eccezionale esperienza nel settore della bicicletta, ha assunto...

GIOVANISSIMI

L'INIZIATIVA. LIDL ITALIA SOSTIENE 20 GIOVANISSIMI TORINESI CON UNA BORSA DI SPORT

Venti giovani ciclisti torinesi hanno ricevuto ieri, durante la breve cerimonia di consegna tenutasi al Motovelodromo, una Borsa di Sport annuale finanziata da Lidl Italia che consentirà loro di far parte della Squadra Corse Giovanissimi di ciclismo su strada del...

PROFESSIONISTI

WORLD TOUR, L'ITALIA E' LA TERZA FORZA, L'EUROPA TORNA A CRESCERE

Sono al momento 521 i ciclisti tesserati nelle 18 squadre World Tour 2025. A fare la “voce grossa” è come da tradizione l’Europa con 443 rappresentanti, corrispondenti all'85, 03% del totale. A seguire l’America con 33, poi Oceania con 31,...

NEWS

DA MANCHESTER A PADOVA IN BICI: L'AVVENTURA DI LUCA FAVARO PER TORNARE A CASA

C’è chi va al posto di andare al lavoro in auto, o in treno sceglie la bicicletta, è una tendenza ormai fortunatamente diffusissima che fa bene non solo alla salute, ma all’ambiente. Anche Luca Favaro, 52 anni e residente a...

STORIA

PALASPORT DI SAN SIRO, 40 ANNI FA IL CROLLO DELLA CASA DEL CICLISMO (E NON SOLO)

È la sera del 17 gennaio 1985, la mega-nevicata dà una mazzata terribile al ciclismo e in generale allo sport italiano. Verso le ore 22 il peso della neve causa il forte cedimento ai piloni trasversali di sostegno del Palasport...

STORIA

CORSE E RICORSI. A 40 ANNI DAL CROLLO DEL PALAZZO DELLO SPORT IL RACCONTO UNICO DELLE PICCOLE 6 GIORNI

La storia del ciclismo italiano è ricca di corse che non si disputano più ma che hanno fatto la storia: per questo abbiamo pensato di proporvi una nuova rubrica che le tiri fuori dal cassetto dei ricordi. Se avete una foto...

DIGITAL EDITION

Rubriche
Grandi Giri
Federazioni

SAPERNE DI PIU'

Squadre
Calendario Prof.

MULTIMEDIA

TB Video
Youtube

Prima Pagina Edizioni s.r.l. - Via Inama 7 - 20133 Milano - P.I. 11980460155