Happy days at Ivan Basso's house, and thus among the mentors of the Alberto Contador Foundation, with Fran and Alberto, at the helm. "The Giro is our race, the one we feel most in Italy. The day they confirmed the invitation was one of the happiest I remember" explains Ivan Basso with a tone of satisfaction.
The invitation from Eolo-Kometa blesses the "tip of the icebergThe invitation of Kometa blesses the "tip of the project that comes from the very root of the aforementioned Foundation, putting a horizon in the minds of not a few members of the structure. Between them "we are talking about 25 staff members and about 40 cyclists," Basso explains.
At the same time is the culmination for the pro-continental team that emerged three years ago to go "burning stages, growing little by little. Eolo is a giant in its sector, its commitment to us is for three years, but with the certainty that, if we do things right, we will go on for longer," continues the former cyclist.
Eleven years later in the Giro
In 2010, the Giro d'Italia ended in the beautiful Arena di Verona with Ivan Basso in pink after twenty-one memorable stages.in one of the most spectacular editions of the modern era of the pink race. Eleven years later Ivan Basso closes the circle, to the race he was as a child and then as a cyclist, now comes as the visible head of a team.
"It's the culmination of a dream and the work of these three years. We have put together a balanced team, with young and older riders. that we hope will be the perfect mix" describes the twenty cyclists in which we highlight four Spaniards: Sergio García, Arturo Grávalos, Alejandro Ropero and Diego Pablo Sevilla.
In that sense, Ivan affirms that "in this team there is no nationality quota and we have an eye on what is coming from the Foundation teams, in fact the Italian youth champion against the clock will be in the lower categories of the Foundation.”.
The goal is to be among the best in the pro continental category, making the collective weight count: "It's not easy, we know that, but we want to be as high as possible. We are aware that we don't have a Van der Poel like Alpecin, but our value lies in what the group can achieve and what each one of us can contribute".
And in that climb, Eolo-Kometa's sporting growth is based on a solid relationship with sponsors, "that they are not just sponsors, that we are in constant contact," says Basso. In this sense, the collaboration of GobikBasso says, a support that "goes beyond the normal relationship with a sponsor. They have always had an initiative that has helped us a lot.
In short, it is "a very close collaboration, with very intense feedback from the runners, who are the ones who take the clothes to the limit"."says the former cyclist, who hopes to "win a stage in the Giro", a dream that is not impossible, as is the fact of "challenging" UAE for the exclusive race for teams dressed by Gobik. "I see that as more difficult" he says while smiling....
ByThe Notebook ofJoan Follower
Photos Attila Madrona
