Among those who followed the Italian road cycling championships on Sunday was Claudio Chiappucci, the Varese native who stood on the podiums of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France and who used to captivate the public with his mountain attacks in the polka dot jersey. The victory in Gorizia went to Filippo Conca, the 26-year-old from Lecco who, after racing with Lotto and Q36.5 Pro Cycling, found himself without a contract and started racing with Swatt Club.

"I followed the race and I congratulate Conca, but certainly we were surprised. What happened here didn't happen in any other national championship, and everyone abroad is talking about it".

The former rider was stunned by the result, considering that several World Tour riders were at the start of the Italian Championship.

"Perhaps no one had imagined such a result, without taking anything away from Conca who raced well with his teammates, but at the start there were better-equipped teams, of a higher level that on paper should have done something. So yes, I was surprised, and I don't think I'm the only one". Chiappucci made a broader analysis and didn't just look at Conca's result, but the work done by the entire Swatt Club, which had the ability to win the national jersey and place three riders in the top 15 of the National Championship.

"To be honest, I didn't know this team, and that's why I was surprised that they placed multiple riders in the best group at the finish. These things don't happen often, but when they do, as in the Italian Championship, then they should lead to reflection, indeed, multiple reflections".

Conca is a rider who has raced in the World Tour and knows how to move well in a group, but his victory also came thanks to the excellent team work of Swatt Club.
"Conca undoubtedly rode an amazing race, then he won and that's fine, because he made no mistakes and was in perfect form, but what's surprising is something else. Namely, how a non-professional team managed to place so many riders among the best at the end of the race. Conca has raced with professionals, he was in the WorldTour with Lotto, but the issue here is different. The problem isn't Conca, but his opponents, those professionals present who essentially didn't race. What races has Swatt Club done? I don't know, I didn't follow the development of this team. But then reflections should be made by other teams, the important ones whose rider names and races are well known, and by everyone involved in cycling in Italy".

The analysis goes deeper: "One must wonder how much the riders cared about participating in the Italian Championship and if they prepared for it. There were certainly well-equipped teams that weren't even seen: I think this result represents the current state of the Italian cycling movement, and there's much to reflect on and much to do".

In Belgium, national championships are mandatory for all professional riders, and Sunday's race was won by Tim Wellens ahead of Remco Evenepoel, followed by Philipsen, all important World Tour riders. "Perhaps we should also make national championship participation mandatory. In Belgium, the only absent was Van Aert, but regardless of obligation, for them it's a matter of pride to participate in the race to win the national champion's jersey".

Chiappucci also wanted to highlight how Evenepoel was angry about missing the victory, as he would have liked to go to the Tour with the Belgian flag on his chest. "I think there are several things to review in our movement. We know that there are problems in our cycling, it's not like Sunday's result was needed to understand this, these are things that need to be studied, well understood. It's useless to say that we absolutely must do something to improve the situation. Currently, we don't have great leaders, and we must not forget that Italian cycling has always been used to having great riders. We have several good riders, but the leaders are missing from our movement".

Chiappucci hopes that our cycling can find a new dimension and that the Italian Championships become an important reference point for our entire movement. "We must analyze and be critical of what we've seen: I repeat, the problem isn't Conca's victory, but the absence at the front of all the teams racing in the top category who should have committed themselves".