Imagine having the opportunity to ask all possible questions and create a podcast directly from school desks. This is exactly what happened to the girls and boys of the three-year linguistic high school of F. Zuccarelli in Sorano, Grosseto province, who became protagonists of a project in which they decided to involve a well-known cycling personality: Max Lelli.

At the beginning of January, taking advantage of the teaching break for recovery courses, the students collaborated with the Media Literacy Foundation with the aim of improving communication and created "Maremma che Podcast". Under the guidance of Luca Lovisetto, the students, divided into groups, created actual episodes covering various topics, from crime news to soccer, from safety to TV series, up to cycling. "In each group there were two sound technicians, two authors, and two speakers, we formed a kind of editorial team. Discussing with my classmates, I immediately got the idea to involve Max Lelli, who besides being a cyclist from our area is also a dear friend of mine. We've known each other for many years and often go cycling together. Despite having left professional cycling many years ago, he's always busy, managing an agriturismo, and I was ready to hear him say no, but instead he was extremely available. Max is an extraordinary person with countless stories to tell and advice to give. When we go cycling, he always reveals some curiosities about the great champions he raced with, like Pantani, and I've always been fascinated by this. I wanted to give my friends the opportunity to hear him" explains Niccolò Baldelli, eighteen years old, one of the podcast hosts who also brought his own cycling experience to the story. Passionate about cycling thanks to Vincenzo Nibali's achievements, in 2019 he started racing in MTB Grotte di Castro and in 2021 moved to road racing, competing for three years in the Ballerini Team. Along with him, five other students collaborated on the "cycling" project: Sara Brinzaglia, Viola De Niccola, Gaia Andreucci, Davide Cecconi, and Manuel Bruni, who accompanied him in hosting.

What was supposed to be a simple chat with Max Lelli transformed into a comprehensive narrative by the former Tuscan champion, who completely opened up to the students. Lelli spoke about his cycling beginnings, the golden period of Tuscan cycling, the value of victory and defeat, the difficult decision to retire, and the extreme importance of family. "One day at the Tour we had to climb the Galibier, it was freezing cold, it was one of those days when you start but don't know if you'll return - Lelli recounted during the podcast - during the climb, I fell behind the first ten riders, I was exhausted, but suddenly I saw my wife on the roadside with our daughters who, despite the rain and cold, were cheering for me. Seeing them gave me an incredible strength and determination that made me recover. The family's love can do incredible things."

The podcast episode became an opportunity for the students to challenge themselves, to have a chat with a local champion and get to know his story better, and for one day, they tried to put themselves in the shoes of real journalists.