The Swatt Club and Filippo Conca have swept through the Italian Championship in Gorizia like hurricanes. Just days before the Tour de France begins, public debate and fans' interest are far more focused on the small passionate club's exploit that outmaneuvered the big teams rather than the Grand Tour. In all the drama that has unfolded, there's someone who tries to reason lucidly, as he's always done: Giovanni Ellena. The experienced sports director of Polti VisitMalta has closely admired Conca and his teammates' masterpiece - when he was with Androni, he relaunched many athletes just like Swatt Club is trying to do - but not everything said or written in recent days has fully convinced him.

Giovanni, what didn't you like about the recent narrative?

"Too little has been said about who Conca really is, namely a true cyclist. At Androni, together with Kevin Colleoni, we had him sign a pre-contract in 2019, he did a training camp in Spain with us and we watched him closely. By agreement, he remained another year with Biesse Carrera but then chose to go to Lotto in the WorldTour. In any case, we're talking about an athlete with significant numbers and potential, who is no less than the opponents he faced on Sunday. Gianni Savio would have said 'what the hell are we talking about?'"

But he was abandoned by professional cycling...

"In cycling, in my opinion, there are 3 categories: the amateur, who goes for a ride on Sunday like me for fun, the professional who is paid to do it, and the professional-level rider, who sometimes does it better than the professional but doesn't make a living from it. Conca and Gaffuri currently belong to this category, but not only them..."

Who else?

"Their sports director, Giorgio Brambilla. Besides being an excellent communicator, it shouldn't be forgotten that he was in the team cars of Cofidis and Tirol a few years ago. They're not novices, we can't call them amateurs. These are very professional people who essentially lack economic support. Welcome to these realities in our cycling, who know how to work and transmit joy and motivation to young riders - it confirms there are many competent people around the sport, and that the main problem remains the same: finding funds."

But how can you explain that no one wanted to bet on Conca this year?

"Unfortunately, there are many riders who are left without a contract despite deserving one, but this is an international and not just an Italian issue. Conca is certainly stronger than many athletes currently holding professional contracts. But then each team has its own hierarchies, needs, contracts to respect. Cases like Conca's happen, there are others around, one wonders how many we've lost? We discovered Alessandro De Marchi when he was 24. Personally, I went looking for someone like Conca in 2019, I would have gladly taken him back and would gladly do so again because he's a good rider. He was brave not to give up and will surely find a new placement. Let's say if in Italy we had 5 Professional teams instead of 3, we would probably have fewer of these problems because there would be more space."

That Swatt Club has outmaneuvered everyone is undeniable.

"They raced extremely well tactically, were alert and reactive, and had prepared the Italian Championship intelligently and professionally. The same cannot be said of all other teams, which at this moment are running a calendar focused on UCI point hunting, intense and demanding, and moreover the race comes after the Giro d'Italia, which naturally engages most Italian riders and exhausts them. Conca himself seems to have admitted that many were very tired, but it has always been this way. We won the National Championship in 2012 with Franco Pellizotti, who was fresh and hadn't raced the Giro. Someone like Jonathan Milan was in good shape but didn't have enough teammates to keep the race closed."

Speaking of UCI points, for your Polti VisitMalta, a second part of the season of open hunting begins.

"Here too I must quote Gianni Savio: 'we would need more meritocracy'. The points system is more than questionable. Let me give an example: the other day, the winner of the Brescia City Trophy got 40 UCI points, the same points you get by finishing 6th in the general classification of a race like O Gran Camiño, which in recent years was won twice by a certain Vingegaard. That doesn't seem very normal to me. To be almost certain, we would need to race .2 events, but in that case, you would overshadow a showcase that should be for young riders, and that's not very much in our philosophy. These are choices. That doesn't mean we won't fight to get as many points as possible."