Paolo Bettini never stops and keeps enjoying himself more and more. Once a great classic hunter, he has now realized his last dream: flying with the Frecce Tricolori. The Livornese spent a day at the Friulian base in Rivolto (Udine), invited by the National Aerobatic Team, and, as he tells Gazzetta dello Sport today, he flew for 40 minutes in an Mb339 piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Franco Paolo Marocco, the Frecce commander. Bettini completed the entire aerobatic program and earned the commander's compliments: "Paolo reacted like a true athlete. When you do these things, you understand a person's true value".

Bettini has accumulated 650 flight hours (now with an advanced Tecnam P 2008 ultralight) and describes the emotion of piloting right after takeoff: "Sometimes I would slip... the plane has an incredible sensitivity. Compared to my ultralight's control stick, I could make polenta to perform maneuvers. No, you can't understand. I love flying, I have a pilot's license and know what it means to be in the air, but this is incomprehensible until you experience it. We did all their program figures, changing positions too. This was my last dream, as an Italian, passionate about flying and our country's excellence. I've won everything on a bike, Olympics, World Championships, but today was something different, unique, the most beautiful, unrepeatable experience. What's next? When's the flight to Mars? Because for those who love flying, it doesn't get better than this".

Bettini has experienced many extraordinary moments, but one he'll always remember. "The commander tells me: 'How's it going, how are you? If you're with me, I'll pull. And we did a positive Schneider' (the plane, with wings knife-edge towards the ground, makes a tight 360-degree turn, ed.), pulling it well at 7.2 G (body weight multiplied by 7), for 10-12 seconds, and in those same moments he made me talk to check if I was conscious or fainting. And I was present, concentrated on staying myself! That was tough. You must concentrate on closing your abdomen and diaphragm, tighten your glutes and thighs, and compensate with breathing, because you feel your heart dropping to your stomach. If you leave your body relaxed, you'll faint in seconds".

But what struck Bettini most was a specific moment in the program. "When we changed position in the formation. From first to fourth, the tail of the diamond. While you're in front, everything's beautiful, you have space, but behind... goodbye. You raise your head and see the belly of another plane one, two meters above you: I told the commander I could inspect the plane's belly. And there I grabbed the cockpit. Then I thought: this is something totally different from anything I've done. Impressive".

In the interview, Bettini also talks about Vingegaard. "I've often criticized him. Welcome to the Giro, but Jonas should study Italy well because, as happened in the past to Wiggins and Thomas, Italy is different. It's the country of imagination. For Pogacar, I think it's easier to win Roubaix than Sanremo, which is the only major classic that can leave you with uncertainty".

He also commented on Evenepoel, whom he sees as ready to truly surprise. "Evenepoel has changed teams, it's a big bet, he's stepping out of his comfort zone, and sometimes you need to restart to regain some hunger. Remco now has everything, he has no more excuses".