In the mixed zone, Matteo Scalco outlines a positive personal assessment: the under-23 road world championship saw him as a protagonist, a generous author of a performance among the very best: "In the first laps there was great chaos, a breakaway with a small group including Sambinello went away immediately. I stayed on his wheel and then attacked on my own: I'm happy with my race, I fought for the podium".

And that forceful action?

"Already after an hour of racing the sensations were very good, my legs were responding well. I didn't want to leave Montreal with the regret of not having tried, and it comforts me that I recovered in the final, every time the others accelerated".

Was the American someone to mark?

"It wasn't easy. He went really strong, we were pushing behind but we couldn't close the gap: hats off to him".

The new rainbow jersey wearer, in fact, should not be seen as a surprise. Born on September 25th nineteen years ago, he celebrated his birthday in spectacular fashion, and the successor to Lorenzo Finn (same agent, Jamie Barlow), riding for Visma Lease a Bike Development, had already performed very well at the world championship in Zurich.

In Switzerland he finished fifth on the road and ninth in the time trial. At Mont Royal, it sounded a bit strange to hear the American national anthem, since Barry was Canadian until 2023, raised in Ontario but born in Girona, Spain. His is a story of inheritance, this is obvious, as both his father Michael and his mother Dade, originally from Milwaukee, were professional cyclists. The young man has a clear versatile approach: he started with cyclocross, did gravel and track, "racked up" countless kilometers in mountain biking during the covid era. Now here he is smiling, wearing the rainbow jersey and taking selfies with Alvarez and Stiansen.