MARTINA FIDANZA. «MY DEBUT WITH THE VISMA TEAM, WITH VOS, WITH FERRAND PREVOT...»

INTERVIEW | 31/12/2024 | 08:35
di Giorgia Monguzzi
In the Fidanza household, besides celebration, there's an air of change, after two years together with Ceratizit Arianna, Martina and the team have taken different paths, launching into new adventures. While her older sister has signed a two-year contract with the Spanish Laboral, Martina has landed in the Visma Lease a Bike squad. In the Dutch team, everything is different and larger, with a new group, new staff, and a series of new materials to test and adapt to. The challenge is gigantic, but the twenty-five-year-old from Bergamo has been ready and has the right spirit to take on the challenge.
«For me, it's a completely new experience, and I'm enthusiastic; I still need to get to know my teammates and the environment, but my first impression is that I like it very much. There's great attention to every detail, they leave nothing to chance. For example, they're now giving me a lot of help to adapt best to the new materials. New bike, new shoes - these are complicated changes that are often underestimated, but if you're uncomfortable, you can't perform your best in the race» Martina tells us. In recent weeks, she has been in training camp with the team, not only to settle in but especially to plan her 2025. The change is enormous, but the Bergamo athlete has repeatedly shown that she's not afraid of big challenges. The language barrier is certainly not to be underestimated; at Ceratizit, part of the staff was Italian, but here English is the only possible language. She is the only representative of our country in the team, although she has good support in Margaux Vigie, who speaks a bit of Italian thanks to her years in Valcar. «Having Margaux on the team gives me security - Martina continues - sometimes I have the opportunity to feel a bit more at home. The staff is practically all Dutch, but fortunately, this aspect is not felt so much; they are all very helpful and have welcomed the new athletes in the best way»
If someone had told Martina a few years ago that she would race on the same team as her idol Marianne Vos, she would have been the first to laugh, but now that it has happened, she is living a dream and hopes to grow as a person and as an athlete. As she herself admits, the first impact was strange - it doesn't happen every day to have to deal with the athlete she was trying to emulate as a child, but it seems the obstacle has been overcome. She has also found Pauline Ferrand Prevot in the team, the Olympic MTB champion who will make her return to the road and from whom Martina hopes to learn a lot more.
The first training camp was used to plan the season, not so much in terms of races but in terms of preparation. The team strongly believes in Martina, who will be one of the two sprinters of the formation, alternating with the very young Dutch rider Nienke Veenhoven. «During the training camp, we tried to get to know each other, we had various individual meetings to understand our potential, what I need to perform at my best and what they expect from me. In the team's plans, I will be one of the two sprinters along with Nienke; we'll try to support and help each other. The technicians have precise ideas; they've already explained the various lead-out roles and are trying to organize a real train to allow us to score. On the other hand, I aim to improve in other aspects like endurance to help my teammates. I won't be at races just to do sprints but to lend a hand to the team» Martina continues, explaining how her and the team's goal is not to change their nature but to improve as athletes. Compared to last season, gym work and specific activities to improve reaction and speed have increased.
While more and more athletes are forced to choose between road and track, abandoning the latter, Martina has always remained faithful to her ideas, and track activity will remain fundamental in her season. «Before accepting the proposal from Team Visma Lease a Bike, we had several calls, and I always expressed my desire to continue track cycling. When they contacted me, they were aware that with me they would get the complete package and never pushed me to give up. With my trainer, we are trying to design the season to be able to do both things at best. After the Europeans, I'll do a three-week training block to complete preparation and then return to racing, maybe with classics, we'll see as we go along.» Martina Fidanza's 2025 will start at the UAE Tour, then after just two days, she'll move to Belgium for the Track Europeans, where the women's quartet will have to defend the continental title.
After this journey through Martina's dreams and hopes, we've gotten a bit carried away, and before saying goodbye, we ask her about her wish, her big goal for 2025. «My dream would be to win a World Tour race. I don't know if it will already happen in 2025 or not, but one thing is certain: I will continue to try until I achieve it - she tells us - I would like not only to win but to become a point of reference for my teammates, to be a security, a support point, so that even when it's not my moment to race, I can help them and make them count on me.»

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