Alessandro Petacchi: Cycling Tribe Interview

By Jarrod Patridge

Q. Alessandro, congratulations on your recent win in Stage 4 at the Tour de Suisse. Nobody likes to see a bad crash likethat, can you talk us through the last 100 metres or so and tell us how you managed to stay out of trouble.

Of course it’s not completely satisfying winning in a sprint characterized by a bad crash. This time, I was lucky: at 250 mt to go, I had to slow down because of a rider that closed my path and so I chose the right side of the street: I took a look at my opponents on the other side and suddenly I saw a strange movement and I heard a strong sound of crash. I went on pedaling and I won, but I thought it would not have been correct celebrate the success.

This victory is important for the morale, since it came after a bad period for me, full of crashes, illness and bad luck. Now I have quite good feelings and I know I can be competitive in Tour de France sprints against the best sprinters of the world.

The training is quite always the usual, even if I had to add some kilometers to the normal quantity because I had to rest for 10 days because of the bronchial asthma that stopped me in the Giro d’Italia. For a sprinter, it’s important to train for stamina and the explosiveness at the same time, so the peculiar part of the training in view of Tour de France is focused on this target.

Giro d’Italia, for an Italian cyclist, is always something special, so when in 2003 I won the stage in Lecce conquering the pink jersey it was a dream come true: this is my best memory related to a Grand Tour. Of course winning in Tour de France is also an outstanding thing, it’s a worldwide stage for every cyclist.

As already explained, every Italian kid that begins to pedal on a bike dreams to win in Giro d’Italia. So, to realize that dream is the top. In addition, if you can get the pink jersey too, you can live moments that you’ll never forget.

I can tell that surely the toughest opponent has been Mario Cipollini: he was and he still is an example for all the sprinters and I’m very glad that I could compete, and even win, in sprints against him. Mario was for sure the best one.

Of course I will ride my Wilier Superleggera “Ale-Jet”: it’s a very good bike, whose frame is the perfect mix of rigidity and driveability. Wilier fulfilled my requests and needs in a perfect way, the feeling with the bike was immediate and for a sprinter is not always so usual.

I have another year of contract with team Lampre-Farnese Vini: I’m focused on performing the best for my team, then if at the end of 2011 I have the will to go on in the cycling world, I will evaluate the situation. But at the moment I can’t really tell what it will be for my future.

The skin of the fans: it happens sometimes, but it’s always so strange…