Written by 08:13 Pro Cycling Story

Grazie Mille Mamma

I had a very bad crash at the nationals in 2013. I broke my iliac crest, I had a 20-centimetre scar on my abdomen and had 100 stitches. I tore all my muscles up to my stomach. As soon as I had surgery, my mom came to my bedside in the hospital and said you need to believe that you can come back and make it to the world championships later in the year.

It would be an impossible task. This was by far the biggest challenge I’ve faced in my career.

My brother, Paolo, who was a professional cyclist in the World Tour, knew how tough this would be and didn’t think it was possible.

After they built a special bed to transport me home in the ambulance, my brother walked into my room in his training kit and said it’s important that you just work on the mindset of starting to ride your bike one day again.

I was like, “No! I want to go to the World Championships in September – full stop.”

He looked at me like I was crazy.

Nobody except my mom and I believed I would make it back in time for the world’s.

It was a long journey to come back but you can imagine what finishing 8th in the World Championships later that year in Firenze meant to me.

I’ve always been close to my family. They have been my biggest support network. I was not sure if I wanted to race the Giro this year because I had a bit of a rough time before it and my dad said, “Just go! I know you, you will be up for the fight.” I ended up having the best time with my team but would have missed out on that experience if it wasn’t for my family’s support.

As a cyclist, you’re traveling the world, but your family is always with you, no matter where you are. They’ve seen you since you were a little child and will always be next to you through the highs and lows of life and sport.

My mother knows me very well and knows I love challenges. That’s why she motivated me that day in the hospital as soon I came out of surgery.

She was a cross country skier and went to three Olympic Games. My dad was also a skier before he became the technician of the national team and became my mother’s trainer.

When I was a little girl, they used to bring me to national events and I became the unofficial mascot of the national team. Once, the mascot of the race made me dance and sing Hakuna Matata in front of everyone. I loved it and remember it like it was yesterday. I’m not sure how much my mother loved bringing me because she had to focus on her races but it was so much fun for me.

My mom has always been my biggest supporter, always there. Here we are in 2017 enjoying my Strade Bianche victory.

We have always been a sporty family. When you walk into our family home, you can be guaranteed that Rai Sport will be on TV. My dad watches everything, even snooker.

We have always enjoyed each other’s successes together.

Paolo my older brother was a professional cyclist for 11 years. When he turned pro in 2004 the world was in a different place to where it is now. Communicating with him was very difficult and information was hard to come by.

I remember we had to buy an international phone card so we could call him in France or call his hotel so we could speak to him. My mother would sometimes get worried because we would not know what was happening when he crashed.

He was in the Tour de France in 2008 and we saw him crashing and breaking his collarbone live on TV. He looked really bad. My mom was very worried. We could only find out progress in the evening once he had a phone at the hospital.

Now things are so different. You can speak to a rider minutes after they’ve crossed the finish line.

I asked my parents if I could focus on cycling for three years and give everything. I wanted to become somebody.

My passion for cycling started by watching my brother training and racing. I’m not just talking about a small passion of riding a bike. I became a real fan.

It’s embarrassing for me to repeat this, but I used to keep a notebook where I would write stage by stage who was in the Maglia Rosa in the Giro and who was the highest-ranked of my brother’s teammates. I was a cycling nerd and could work for Procyclingstats.com now.

Some notes I took from the 2004 Giro d’Italia

I have such a good memory and remember results better than most. I used to follow the women’s Giro where my Sports Directors at Trek Segafredo, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg and Giorgia Bronzini used to race. Women’s cycling wasn’t popular then, but I asked my parents to take me to the race. I knew all the riders.

Sometimes in the team bus, Ina and Giorgia will be reminiscing about those old races and I will say, “oh yes, I know that rider, she was riding for such and such a team that year”.

They will look at me like, “What the f***? How do you know that?”

Every time the Giro or the Tour de France finished, I was very sad because my favourite entertainment was over.

The first time I thought I could maybe become a good cyclist and make a living out if it was after I won a medal in the world championships in Valkenburg in 2012. I asked my parents if I could focus on cycling for three years and give everything.

I wanted to become somebody.

2016 Rio Olympic Games. © GETTY IMAGES

I would go back to studying if it didn’t work out after three years. That’s the deal I made with them. I knew it would be very difficult because cycling is really hard. I call it the iceberg effect. From the outside you can only see the top of the iceberg, but below the water, there is much more.

There are so many unsuccessful training days that you have to face, so much mental focus you need, your family has to support you and sacrifice with you. Dealing with defeat is never easy. Coming back from near-career ending crashes is harder than you can imagine.

I saw how tough it was for my brother but I wanted it so bad. I wanted to become my best.

I don’t regret my choice and have never looked back.

I remember when I knew I made the right choice. My mother decided to skip the Olympic Games in 1992 so they could have me. When I won the bronze medal in the Rio Olympics, she said, “This is like you giving me the medal I could have won in ’92 but giving birth to you is the best thing that has happened in my life. My daughter getting a medal in the Olympic Games makes it even better.”

Grazie mille Mamma.

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Tags: , , Last modified: Jan 19, 2020
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