If you don't have strong shoulders or the spirit of someone who never gives up, tunnels can become endless and you can plunge into darkness. In recent months, Federica Venturelli risked losing herself again, all because of a damned misfortune that won't stop pursuing her. Already in 2024, the incredibly talented 20-year-old athlete from the UAE development team was forced to give up most of the season, first a back problem, then a broken arm, her dreams interrupted in June. The restart had been difficult and as she had confided to us in the January interview in Tuttobici, she couldn't wait to put everything behind her, but then misfortune started hitting again.

We saw her in a race only once at the Marratxi Fellanitx trophy where she finished the race with a wrist fracture due to a fall, then she was forced into yet another stop; from that moment, little or nothing was publicly known about Federica, in March she did some tests at the Monza racetrack with the team and then darkness. Today in Durango she will return to pin a number on her back, a full four months after the last time, and her emotion is palpable. When we call her to have her tell us how she is, we immediately understand that this won't be just another race, but a true hope of returning to normality. Federica tells us everything without mincing words, between difficulties and the strength to start again thanks to music and her love for cycling.

"In January in Spain, I fractured my elbow, but I recovered quite quickly and started training again, by mid-March I was already ready to return to racing, but unfortunately there were no races. The Ponente in Rosa was cancelled, as was the Mediterranean Tour, and from that moment the problems started again. In April, I was down with the flu for a week and then that back problem that had already kept me sidelined in early 2024 returned, a new nightmare because it left me bedridden with pain and when I started training again, my knee became inflamed because to avoid straining my back, I was forced to assume an unnatural position. Basically, I hardly trained for more than a month" Federica tells us without too many roundabouts and without filters, showing us how the last 4 months have been a true nightmare.

The problem of the lack of races in Italy for continental women's teams robbed the 20-year-old from Cremona of the opportunity to try to restart, and subsequent physical problems risked making her plummet into the abyss. "It was complicated not only physically, but especially mentally, I knew I was doing well, I had excellent values in training but I was never able to express myself because effectively there were no races. Then came the back setback that made everything even more terrible, I had people around me who supported me and professionals who put me back in the saddle by getting to the root of the problem. The team was always by my side, advising me, I had continuous contacts even from a distance and I'm happy that I can finally return to seeing the light." Federica continues, and it's impossible not to notice her voice full of emotion. Next to her was the risk of having to abandon everything. Some people around her tried to ask her if it was really worth it, maybe it would be better to quit and focus only on studying, but she, head held high, almost like a true veteran, took control and wanted to start a new game. "I have always been convinced not to leave the bike, I want to try, even if it's not the right path in terms of results, I still want to believe in that glimmer to try to solve these problems. In some way, this sport belongs to me, I don't want to give up."

Today Federica is ready to return to battle, to start again. Living the race atmosphere was an absolute necessity, she needed to touch it firsthand, to reunite with her teammates and the team, to pin a number on her back. It's a first test, it's a beginning, we shouldn't expect a great performance "who knows how it'll go, maybe after 10 km I'll stop" she tells us jokingly, but with the awareness of having the strength to restart step by step to find herself. Federica decided to tell us everything from the heart, reaffirming her absolute love for cycling, the true secret to moving forward. When things weren't going well, she also found refuge in music, put headphones on and listened to Olly, the latest Sanremo winner, but not only that, she found her smile again with the eclectic Eugenio Via di Gioia. "When they cancelled the Mediterranean Tour, I was devastated, I wanted to quit everything, then on impulse I bought a ticket to their concert and this literally kept me afloat, gave me the strength not to give up. Now I want to restart."