FILIPPO CONCA. «I STILL HOPE FOR A CALL, I WANT TO SHOW HOW MUCH I'M WORTH. OTHERWISE...»
INTERVIEW | 03/12/2024 | 08:18 di Francesca Cazzaniga Filippo Conca has fulfilled the dream that all riders have, that of racing among professionals. Joining the big leagues in 2021 with Lotto Soudal, the Lecco-born rider from the class of 1998 after two seasons with the Belgian team signed a contract with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. In four years as a professional, Conca hasn't secured any victories, but has some good placements like fifth place in the ninth stage of the 2022 Vuelta a España, top 10 at Trofeo Laigueglia in 2020 and this year at Coppa Agostoni. Not enough, at least for now, to find a team to race with next year. Filippo, how are you experiencing this period of uncertainty? "I'm calm, I already have ideas for the future. I'm planning my post-career, though I hope someone might give me another opportunity because I know my worth. I'm not a champion, it's true, but I find it absurd that, despite the work I've done for teams over these years, I'm left without a team. There are several riders who risk quitting this year because they're in limbo and haven't found a team, and I risk being part of this group. I can only continue to hope and see how things develop." Are you training? "I'm continuing to train to maintain my form, alternating road rides with gym sessions. A preparation like all other winters, although not having a specific goal makes everything more complex. It's a difficult situation, many teams have closed their budgets, so I'm starting to think about using my economics degree." What's the balance of your 2024? "In terms of results, I haven't collected much, but it's also true that this year I didn't have a well-defined program and was often called at the last moment. I was always available to the team and my teammates and tried to be ready with my condition each time. I would have liked a bit more space, but that's how it went." Would you accept racing in a Continental team and thus take a step back? "Yes, absolutely. My goal is to continue racing, I know it won't be easy, but I feel I still have something to give to this sport. If I can't find a team, I'll launch into gravel especially to have objectives in terms of preparation and rediscover the right motivation, because training without a defined goal becomes exhausting, just as this last season was, faced without a defined program and therefore without knowing what I was working for." But what do you see in your post-career? "I live on Lake Como and I'm already thinking of starting a business in the tourism sector." Would you leave cycling with a smile? "I would leave with a smile because I know the type of person I am, but also with regret for not having been able to give what I would have wanted. I believe I lacked continuity to demonstrate the fruits of my work. At Lotto they helped me a lot, I had a great experience and for me those were two fundamental seasons, while the last two years should have gone differently. I improved in terms of numbers and performance, but that's not enough, you also need the opportunity to demonstrate your value, why not?, and also have a bit of luck and hit the right performance at the right time. However, I look at the glass half full and these are certainly great experiences." Do you have any regrets? "In my first year as a professional, I had various health problems that didn't allow me the right performance continuity. These are things not under our control, but which can change a career; I don't want to make excuses, indeed I would do everything again exactly as I did." Who are your cycling friends? "Simone Petilli and Marco Tizza, people I know I can count on." The most beautiful moment in these four years as a pro? "There are several: the two breakaways at the 2022 Vuelta, the Italian Championship last year and this year at Agostoni, the home race, where I knew I was without a team for next year and with the awareness that it could be my last race. I raced giving my all, body and soul." You still hope, right? "I'll wait until the last moment and if no call comes, I'll try gravel and there's a team that gives me this opportunity. Hope dies last. I'll leave the door open to road cycling, to then return after a year, or when and if a call arrives."
Scorrendo i primi dieci della classifica finale della Tirreno-Adriatico, balzano all'occhio tre bandierine italiane (Pellizzari, Ciccone, Pinarello) che hanno in comune una squadra, anzi una famiglia. Da questa constatazione partono le riflessioni che ha condiviso con noi al telefono Roberto...
Giornata di annunci e prolungamenti importanti per i colori francesi. A distanza di poche ore l’una dall’altra, infatti, sia la Groupama-FDJ che la Tudor hanno annunciato di aver esteso gli accordi già in essere con Clément Braz Afonso che...
Tira una brutta aria nel mondo delle formazioni ProTeam in vista della prossima stagione: alla Flanders Baloise, che nel 2027 perderà l'appoggio del governo delle Fiandre, e alla TotalEnergies, il cui sponsor principale ha deciso di far confluire tutti i...
Isaac Del Toro è diventato il 48° corridore a scrivere il proprio nome nell’albo d’oro della Tirreno-Adriatico e ha permesso al Messico di conquistare il primo storico trionfo nelle 61 edizioni della Corsa dei Due Mari che si sono disputate...
Solo tanto spavento ma nulla di rotto, alla fine, per Eleonora Ciabocco. Caduta e costretta al ritiro durante il Trofeo Binda andato in scena ieri sulle strade attorno a Cittiglio, la classe 2004 di Corridonia infatti, come ha riportato il...
La Parigi-Nizza e la Tirreno-Adriatico sono finite ed è arrivato il momento di guardare alla Milano-Sanremo, la prima Classica Monumento dell’anno, che sabato vedrà al via i corridori più forti del Word Tour. Ci saranno Pogacar, Van der Poel, Van...
Finalmente Jonas Vingegaard è sereno e sorridente e si è lasciato alle spalle i giorni di corsa, in cui era alta tensione. Il danese ha vinto la sua prima Parigi-Nizza e per la sua Visma-lease a Bike questa è la...
Ieri a Cittiglio Karlijn Swinkels ha acciuffato la sua prima corsa World Tour della carriera, ma ha fatto festa anche tutto il team Uae Adq che si è stretto intorno a lei in un vero e proprio abbraccio. La formazione...
È oramai prossima la manifestazione voluta dall’amministrazione comunale di Paderno Dugnano per ricordare il 150° anniversario della vittoria, nella prima edizione della Milano-Torino nel 1876, di Paolo Magretti, nato a Milano ma che ha vissuto buona parte della sua vita...
Alla prima stagione nel World Tour, Matthew Fox ha impiegato appena 15 giorni di gara per centrare il primo successo da pro’. Al Tour de Taiwan, infatti, il ventitreenne australiano della Lotto-Intermarchè (squadra con cui ha firmato un biennale...
4
4
Ritratti
Oscar
Albi d'Oro
Se sei giá nostro utente esegui il login altrimenti registrati.