BELLINI SPEAKS: «OUR PETROLIKE, BUILT WITH GIANNI SAVIO'S IDEAS AND PASSION»

INTERVIEW | 21/01/2025 | 12:31
di Pier Augusto Stagi
He struggles to speak in the singular, he just can't do it. It's a continuous "we decided, we wanted to do, we chose...". Marco Bellini, 56 years old, team manager of the Mexican Petrolike, talks about his new adventure that smells of the future with the cadence of someone who never forgets his past.
"I owe everything to Gianni Savio, with whom I became a sports director and after ten years a partner in his company" - he tells us while traveling to Valencia, where next Friday he will make his debut at the Clasica Camp de Morvedre -.
"We talked about cycling until the very end, until his last hospitalization, forty days before he left us (on December 30, 2024, ed.). He never met anyone from Petrolike, but his eyes would light up when I talked about this new project of ours. Of this team that is small but has the potential to become much larger. He had an immeasurable passion, a love that he always defined as an illness. A benign illness that unites us, that brings together all of us who are nourished by bicycles and riders."
The tone of his voice is strong and clear, it does not betray emotion and his memories are a balm for the heart. "I have an infinity of memories that I carry with me. I have received so much from cycling, much more than I gave as a rider" - he explains -. "At first, I was madly in love with skiing, but then the bicycle appeared and I managed. I was not a champion (he rode two years with Mapei, one with Asics, one with Cantina Tollo before ending with Gianni Savio's Selle Italia, ed.), but an honest pedal employee, who had the great merit of understanding that it was not his path. But my luck was meeting Gianni. He welcomed me like a younger brother and loved me like a son. Today I move forward convinced that he can see me: I feel that he accompanies me in this new adventure."
A good team, with some interesting riders to relaunch, starting with Ecuadorian Jonathan Caicedo. "After five years in the World Tour with the EF jersey, he chose a year ago to get back in the game with us" - he specifies -. "He has skills, experience, and an engine: for us, he is a great reference. A cornerstone of this project. With him, his compatriot Kevin Navas, and logically a Mexican group led by Cesar Macias, a very interesting element, and with him Carlos Garcia, Edgar Cadena, Juan and Jose Prieto, Lionel Cisneros, as well as our Lorenzo Peschi, who was taken to help a potential arrival of Malucelli (gone to XDS Astana, ed.), Lorenzo Galimberti and Filippo D'Aiuto, very serious and professional guys who will help grow this brood of South American riders. And then there's a bet, named Andrii Ponomar, a guy with talent and numbers, not yet fully expressed. But keep an eye also on an 18-year-old Irish boy, Killian O'Brien: the numbers are really very interesting, but patience is needed. Two Colombians complete the roster: Alejandro Callejas and Sebastian Camargo."
A team that will rely on the technical guidance of Andrea Peschi and Omar Mendoza, and the collaboration of Fabrizio Tacchino as a trainer, Cristiano Caporali as a nutritionist, and a beautiful family of sponsors. "And I can only thank them" - Bellini specifies - "from Salice Glasses and helmets, to Pella SportsWear for racing and leisure clothing, as well as Vittoria Gomme, Vision, and Power Bar. Even if it won't appear on the jerseys - but never say never - there's always Sidermec by Pino "Salvatore" Buda (cit. Gianni Savio) and I hope also Androni Giocattoli."
Marco Bellini's team, after Morvedre, will stay in Spain for the Trofeo Calvia (January 29) and Felanitx (30) and Sierra Tramuntana (31), then continue the Hispanic "campaign" at the Trofeo Andratx Pollenca (February 1) and Palma (2), before participating from the 5th to the 9th in the Volta Comunitat Valenciana.
"The calendar is very good" - Bellini concludes - "perhaps too good. Because after the Valenciana, we will stay in Spain for the Vuelta Ala Region de Murica (February 15), the Vuelta Andalucia (19-23) and O Gran Camiño (February 26 - March 3)."
For the record, in Italy, they will be at the start of the Trofeo Laigueglia (March 5), then the Croatian trip for Porec Classic in Croatia (March 9) and Istrian Tour (13-16), before the Coppi e Bartali from March 25 to 29.

In the pohoto, Marco Bellini with Andrea Fortolan, president of Pella Sportswear

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