We knew we would witness a spectacle, but what we didn't expect was to see Tadej Pogacar not dominating on all fronts. But in the end, this is somewhat the essence of the A&J all sport padel tournament: to challenge oneself, to step away from bikes for once and try to overturn hierarchies, with only one rule: have fun.

This is the second edition of the padel tournament organized by the Johnny and Alex Carera agency, a small appetizer of their now-famous party to celebrate all the season's successes. Seeing the winning formula from last year, bringing back padel was practically automatic, but this time they decided to add the racing simulator experience to allow everyone to step into Formula One driver shoes. "We've been doing our party for over 20 years and we always have a thousand ideas," Johnny and Alex Carera told us, "then last year we got the padel bug and immediately noticed the riders liked it. The virtual race was a bit of a bet, and seeing everyone's faces here, we really hit the mark."

In front of a real cheering crowd, Antonio Tiberi was the strongest on the simulator, beating Tadej Pogacar in a truly hard-fought final, under the watchful eye of Ernesto Colnago, who didn't miss the opportunity to personally greet the Slovenian champion. Tadej didn't fare too well in padel either, being eliminated in the initial stages of the tournament, but he certainly didn't lose his smile. "I admit, I came here to win, but things don't always go well, but I had fun anyway. I believe these moments of break between the end of the season and the start of the next are fundamental to reset everything. I'm just sorry that between vacations and countless commitments, I didn't train much. I'll come back for a rematch," Pogacar joked. The men's doubles tournament was then won by Lorenzo Milesi and Kevin Colleoni, who beat Giulio Pellizzari and Maxim Van Gils. In the women's doubles, Elisa Balsamo triumphed, eliminating all opponents with her teammate.

Many flocked to the padel courts to test themselves, numerous champions from the Carera brothers' "dream stable". Besides those already mentioned, present were Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini, Debora Silvestri, Silvia Persico, Katia Ragusa, Urska Zigart, Linda Laporta, Alena Amialiusik, Edoardo Zambanini, Nicola Conci, Giulio Ciccone, Lorenzo Rota, Fausto Masnada, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Kevin Colleoni and many others. Each of them gave Johnny and Alex beautiful emotions and the satisfaction of having come a long way. For both, it's difficult to choose the most beautiful moment of the season, although the World Championship, with Tadej Pogacar's double victory, truly holds a special place. "The victory that moved me the most is certainly Matteo Moschetti's at the Alula Tour because it was a beautiful redemption. He was coming from a particularly unlucky season full of injuries, and seeing him raise his arms to the sky again particularly struck me," Alex explained. Johnny also has his heart's victory in August with Giulio Pellizzari's triumph in the 17th stage of the Vuelta. "Over these years, we've worked with many athletes from all over the world, and we've often seen them literally grow. I think the beauty is right here. When you start a relationship with an athlete who is 15-16 years old, you grow with him, you bring him into the professional world, you decide to take risks together, and when he manages to achieve his first victory, it's crazy. It's that joy that repays all the work done."

After drying the padel sweat, it's already time to get ready for tonight's big party to celebrate A&J sports' successes.