There is one aspect on which Alberto Bettiol insists right away and is very keen to say it: "I won because I put feeling into my cycling. Today I won because, like everyone else, I committed myself over the past months, I put my soul into it. We live in a cycling made of calories, numbers, watts and counter-watts, but I think I won with instinct, nobody from the team car told me to attack and go on the breakaway, I felt it and I told myself 'let me do something, let me try'." The Florentine champion of Xds Astana continues: "I consider myself young even though I'm over 30 now, and over-30s in today's cycling are considered old, but I still feel like the youngest of all. I win like this, they will never take it from my head that in cycling the human factor will always prevail, otherwise it wouldn't be so beautiful and popular, otherwise we'd all be computer engineers. And I don't like that cycling: I like emotion, passion, instinct and also a touch of madness".

There's a lot of talk about artificial intelligence in cycling.
"If I had used artificial intelligence, I wouldn't even have started today: unfortunately, it has arrived in cycling too, in race tactics and team strategies, but in my opinion in this sport you can put all the artificial intelligence, all the algorithms you want, but you often get it wrong. Someone described me as a romantic cyclist and I really like that definition. I'm a bit like that, instinctive, sometimes a bit crazy, but then when these stages arrive, these moments at the finish line, with family, friends, my brother who I hadn't seen for 6-7 months, and my dad, my mom, Lisa's family, there are no words. That's when you forget everything and if to live days like these you have to accept the fact of winning once every two years, then who cares, that's fine with me".

You win rarely but well.
"Yes, that's true, I can't say I have great successes, but I've won the most beautiful race in the world, which is the Tour of Flanders, I've won the oldest race in the world, which is Milan-Turin, and I've just won two stages of the most beautiful race in the world for an Italian, which is the Giro d'Italia. And above all I've won in life because, and I always remember this, I'm lucky to have a family that has always supported me, since I started cycling they raised me with values and I'm lucky because during my cycling career I've met incredible people who have written history: without cycling I would never have been able to meet them. I don't read much on social media, I have an agency that handles everything, but unfortunately we live in this world full of people expressing their opinions, but I always try to remember how lucky I am. I always try to see the glass as half full and honestly I don't care if I've won little. I can say I've won the Italian championship in my city, I've dedicated today's victory to one of my coaches (Marcello Massini, ed.) who passed away shortly before the Giro, I had spoken to him on the phone and he could barely speak. These are ultimately the things that matter".

An exceptional Giro for your Xds Astana: two stages, with Ballerini's one in Naples, and two days in pink with Uruguayan Silva.
"I have fantastic teammates, we certainly won't stop amazing you because there's really a great atmosphere in the team, the staff works hard but we're good at repaying them. I'm really sorry for Ballerini who crashed yesterday and was very upset, but we asked him to come to Rome anyway because he won a beautiful stage in Naples".

Let's talk about the stage finale.
"I knew the climb by heart, I practiced it several times, I'm honest, and then my girlfriend's mom's friend (Lisa, ed.) sent me the video many times, her family even did it a few days ago by car, in short, they really wanted me to do well. And then I acted a bit on instinct, I tried at the top, I wanted to anticipate the descent and I knew Leknessund would struggle to follow me, I mean he's not Van der Poel".

How happy are you?
"I'm happy with who I am, it's right that you criticize me, I don't say anything. I'm doing my journey, my career, with all the difficulties, but I always try to see the glass as half full, what I've accomplished. I mean, there are riders who have won billions of races, but have never won a Monument classic. When I go to races, I'm carefree. Today here my fan club was going crazy, I had just a bit of pressure on me. I like having pressure, pressure doesn't destroy me, it charges me up. I often criticize my team a bit because they put little pressure on me. Days like these, I repeat, make you forget everything, if we get a bit more specific I lost a stage at the 2022 Tour de France, well, I would have liked to win that one but on the other hand if I think that I've won, I repeat, the most beautiful race in the world, and I've won the Italian championship at home... But in this cycling nobody lives on memories, we go at a thousand miles an hour, I repeat, we struggle to enjoy our victories, to enjoy everything. We live a very scheduled life, many things one after another, and so when there are these moments that life gives you, you have to enjoy them".

What's your relationship like in the group?
"I always try to be an example for the young riders, and I get angry with some of my colleagues who don't greet children, who don't greet amateurs. I mean, we must be an example and when we make mistakes we must apologize, otherwise Strava or not Strava, and that word alone makes me angry even though it's very trendy, we're not okay. I found out before the time trial that the youth meeting will be in Tuscany in Viareggio, and I made a video for them. I always tell the kids to have fun, that fun should never be missing, regardless of the result. I get angry when I see competitiveness among children. The youngest category should be the category of fun, period. I have this beautiful memory of the youngest category, just fun and that's it. Then it doesn't matter if you win or not, there's time to commit and to look at Strava, watts and everything you want".

How has cycling changed over these years?
"It's changed, cycling has really changed with Pogacar. Tadej has really shifted the balance. I always think of the Tour of Flanders as an example. We keep improving ourselves, this year I was going much stronger, by the numbers, than when I won it, but I finished beyond twentieth place. If you talk to the classics riders, with Caruso who is a dear friend of mine and sometimes I ask him how many watts per kilo he does, an expert rider like Damiano tells you he goes much stronger than ten years ago. In this cycling you have to improve year after year, if you stay the same as last year you can't get to the front. Tadej is certainly the architect of all this, because obviously you can't take him on the final climb, you can't take him on the final attack or the final wall, and so races open up earlier. Poor Remco (Evenepoel, ed.) had the misfortune of being born more or less like him, otherwise he would have been a sensational rider".

You're a big aviation enthusiast, like Bettini. You've flown with the Frecce Tricolori.
"I went up with them last year, they're fantastic people, I could talk about the Frecce and the Italian Air Force all evening. Yes, I'm a fan of aviation, I'm a fan of the Frecce Tricolori, I'm a fan of the whole world of aircraft. Sometimes the people closest to me say I'm more passionate about flying than cycling, but there are many aspects in common. And if the Frecce are in Gemona del Friuli, I'll watch them trying not to crash, because anyway on a bike you go fast".