PERTUSIO
On the eve of the double Piedmontese match, Giovanni Ellena, Canavese ds of Androni Sidermec, finds himself having to deal with a very crowded infirmary: “Unfortunately in this season finale we are hit by injuries and unforeseen events, so it becomes difficult to field a team competitive, especially in a week like this, which sees us involved in five races in six days, after the more than positive experience of the Giro di Sicilia last week ».
Ellena’s guys have definitely done themselves in the Sicilian race: Jhonatan Restrepo has conquered the fourth final place, with a third, a fifth and a tenth place in the stage; in the top ten stages also Samuele Zambelli, Mattia Bais and Simone Ravanelli, who in the final stage bowed only to Vincenzo Nibali, conquering the second place behind the Sicilian. “With Umba, Ponomar and Rumac out of the game everything gets complicated – Ellena comments -, but we have the right men to try to make a good impression: Wednesday in the Milan-Turin we will focus on Muñoz and Chirico, while Thursday’s arrival in Borgosesia could be good for Restrepo features. We do not have illusions, given the lot of competitors, but as always we will race to make a good impression, as is our habit ».
On Saturday, then, the Giro di Lombardia, the last classic monument for Androni toys-Sidermec before changing skin and name. From next year the team will be called Drone Hopper-Androni toys. But it is too early to think about the future: «After the Lombardia we will have three more races: the Agostoni Cup, the Giro del Veneto and the Veneto Classic, then we will sum up and really start thinking about next season». For the moment, the balance of 2021 is more than positive: 12 victories won, with nine different riders (the latest bear the signatures of János Pelikán and Daniel Muñoz at the Giro di Romania and Leonardo Marchiori at the Tour de Bretagne), while in the world ranking the red and white team is the best of the Italians. –
F. B.