Just over two weeks ago Federica Venturelli became the Italian time trial champion in the under-23 category, and a few days later she celebrated with a truly special treat: the Eugenio in Via di Gioia concert. A Turin-based band formed in 2012, Eugenio has an eclectic taste, moving from indie pop to indie rock, and became known to the general public for their participation in the 2020 Sanremo Giovani edition with the song "Tsunami". But why are we telling you all this? Simply because we inadvertently played a part in this whole story.

It all started about a month and a half ago on our website. On the occasion of Federica Venturelli's return to racing, after a long period of stop, we decided to interview her. The young athlete from the Uae Development team told us about the difficult months without races and particularly focused on her passion for music. During one of the hardest moments, right after discovering the cancellation of the Pink Mediterranean Tour, Federica, on impulse, decided to buy a ticket for Eugenio in Via di Gioia, a band she had been following since 2019 but had never seen live. That special concert brought her peace and serenity, gave her the strength not to give up, intensified her training, and finally she returned to racing. On the day the article was published, we shared it on our social media and posted an Instagram story tagging, also on impulse, Eugenio in Via di Gioia, and from that moment magic happened.

Federica immediately wrote to us, incredibly and deeply moved, without words for what had happened. The band members, from our tag, had read Federica's story and, strongly touched, decided to contact her with a clear invitation: we'll see you at our next concert. The girl from Cremona didn't need to be told twice and immediately accepted the invitation between one competitive commitment and another, but the concert fell on a very special date: Saturday, June 28th, the day of the Italian championships. So after racing as a protagonist in the road race, won by her teammate Elisa Longo Borghini, Federica left Darfo heading to Bergamo to enjoy her special prize. "It was all beautiful, I still can't believe it because it seems truly incredible. After celebrating Elisa for her new national title, I immediately went to Bergamo for the concert, I was really excited and it was wonderful. The Eugenio were incredible on stage, they played their best songs and I literally sang my heart out. I had just raced a tough race, but in an instant all the fatigue disappeared, I had already seen them perform live, but attending their concert in this way, after they had written to me saying they had read my story, was even more magical. My little dream was precisely to meet them, and I wanted to try, I was sure they would never remember me." Federica told us, but the adventure was far from over...

After the concert, Federica Venturelli waited for them, and they immediately recognized her. All 4 band members congratulated her on her important achievements and, above all, wished her good luck for her upcoming commitments. Extremely excited, she had them sign her favorite albums and even a Rubik's cube, a characteristic element of the group's singer who often solves it during concerts. "After the concert ended, I decided to wait for them. I was with some fans, but I let the others go first, I wanted to try to carve out a space just for me. As soon as they saw me, they recognized me and it was really nice. They were even more excited than me because they understood they had been fundamental in my comeback. I would never have expected it, and to think it all started by chance..." Federica continued. However, she didn't come empty-handed; she gifted Eugenio in Via di Gioia a signed jersey from her Uae Team, a small token of gratitude for the great emotions experienced through their music that gave her the strength not to give up. And they have already found the perfect place for their important cycling memento: hanging in their studio to remind themselves of the magical power of their music.

Starting from July 15th, Federica Venturelli will be engaged in Portugal for the track European championships reserved for the Under-23 category, and we are more than sure that to pump herself up, she will have some Eugenio in Via di Gioia songs in her headphones, also in memory of that magical evening.