Gaia Segato will also be participating in the upcoming Giro d'Italia Women. The 21-year-old athlete from Treviso, riding for BePink - Imatra – Bongioanni, arrives at the "pink race" with good form and boosted by her third place at the Genoa Apennine Race and the bronze medal won in Darfo Boario Terme in the U23 category alongside Eleonora Ciabocco and Francesca Barale.

A few days after those results and before the big Giro d'Italia Women event, Segato spoke with tuttobiciweb.

Gaia, you achieved important results in just four days. Did you expect this?

"Honestly, no, even though I felt I was in good condition. In Genoa and at the Italian Championship, I always believed in the possibility of doing well, but I didn't imagine it like this. These are incredibly important results that give me an extra mental boost, especially looking ahead to the Giro d'Italia".

Looking at your recent placements, there's clearly an upward trajectory in both condition and results (Seventh in the young riders' classification at Vuelta a Burgos, fifth among young riders at Tour de Suisse, and an eighth place at Alpes Gresivaudan Classic, ed.).

"Not just recently. This year I've made giant strides, I've improved tremendously in BePink. It was my main goal when I started the season, I wanted this year to be good, to be important. But in February, when I started racing at the UAE Tour, I would never have thought I'd be at this level. Now I've gained more confidence. I want to continue growing, without rushing, but consistently, step by step".

Let's revisit the Italian Championship in Darfo Boario Terme.

"The extreme heat significantly impacted the race, and it wasn't easy to manage. I struggled a bit with it. But overall, everything went well. The course was nice; personally, I prefer longer climbs compared to those present, but I really liked the route. I somewhat remembered it from having raced the Junior Italian Championship in Boario: I have fond memories of that edition because I was in the breakaway for a long time".

And what can you tell me about the first edition of the Apennine Race?

"We worked well and were protagonists in the decisive breakaway: after the mountain point, the group stretched out, and we tried to attack on the descent. An attack at that point wasn't planned, but we didn't let the opportunity slip away, and then we gained an advantage that we maintained until the end. There's a bit of regret about not securing the victory, but the satisfaction of a great team performance remains (BePink - Imatra – Bongioanni placed Cagnazzo and Segato on the podium, with Valtulini, Laporta, and Milesi in the top 10, and Ferrari in the top 15, ed.)".

And now the Giro d'Italia Women is coming up. What motivations are you bringing?

"I can't wait for it to start! The races I've done to prepare have gone well, I'm in form, and my morale is high. I believe I can do well, and this year I have an extra motivation".

Tell us about it.

"The fourth stage, from Castello Tesino to Pianezze, will be on my 'home roads': I'll give my all to be a protagonist".

You're starting with the right attitude.

"It's the same attitude all my teammates have. We'll definitely make ourselves noticed, demonstrate our value, and chase good results. That's the BePink spirit!"

Among your colleagues, who do you think might be a protagonist?

"I expect a very competitive Giro. There are so many important names at the start: obviously Longo Borghini and Kopecky are the main favorites, but Reusser has also shown great form. It'll be an open battle with multiple protagonists".

And BePink certainly won't just be watching.

"As I said, we'll do our best. We're all very motivated".