(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
It was just 24 hours after Filippo Pozzato crossed the finish line in
Paris-Roubaix when we caught up with the 27 year-old Katusha captain at
the inauguration of his fiancee' Chiara's new "centro estetica &
solarium, "White" in Rosa', Italy. Pozzato gave an exclusive invite to
Road Bike Action when we were chatting with him before the Tour of
Flanders. "Hey come and check out Chiara's new place next week" and it
was hard to resist. Fast forward to Pasquetta, Easter Monday, April 13th,
which is a holiday across most of Europe and Road Bike Action made the
scene for the grand opening of White Centro Estetica & Solarium.
The scene is clean at white
(Photo: Road Bike Action)
Filippo Pozzato was on hand, as well as his close friends and local
Veneto training partners, World Champion Alessandro Ballan and
Quick-Step's tough guy enforcer Matteo "Il Muratore" Tosatto, who
worked as a bricklayer with his father before dedicating himself to
cycling full time. After a quick tour of "White," Road Bike Action got
down to business with our exclusive, albeit brief interview with Pippo.
Pippo's proud papa at white
(Photo: Road Bike Action)
We asked the Katusha rider how he was feeling a day after Paris-Roubaix
and he grinned and said with a smile "it could have gone better. I
would rather think about what could have been yesterday. Sure I've recuperated well but I wish things had gone differently. Yes, Boonen
won and showed he is a grande champion. I'm OK with the way things went
even if I was hoping to win. Maybe if Hushovd had stayed with Tom
perhaps things would have been different because I probably would have
caught them then. But I have to say I am very sad about the way the
Belgian fans behaved. In the Carrefour de l’Arbre sector, I was covered
with spit and beer! That was just not right!"
After the race, Pozzato told Road Bike Action "I talked to Tom and we
have a good, friendly relationship outside of racing but in the races
it's a different matter. Last spring, I had some good results (2nd:
Milano-Sanremo / 6th Tour of Flanders) but this year, I think I have
finally showed to myself and others my real value and hope to continue
to do so this season and in the future. I can not wait until 2010 when
I'll be back to win here at Roubaix."
We asked Pozzato how Boonen gapped him in the Carrefour de l’Arbre
sector, and he explained "I was right there; you really can't see what
happened on TV. Hushovd went early, and Boonen followed. I accelerated
behind them but suddenly Flecha came underneath. I backed off because I
didn't want to crash, but then Flecha, who had been working little up
until then, wiped out his front wheel and took down Leif Hoste, who hit
the ground." Hoste's teammate Van Summeren stopped short, while Pozzato
then made some amazing moves to get around the crash and still maintain
his chance to win.
"Once I got around that mess, I went all-out to get across to Boonen
& Hushovd; Thor was really strong and made it hard to close the gap
as he was going all-out. Then halfway through the Carrefour de l’Arbre
sector, I was about 10" behind and I came around the left-had bend and
there was Hushovd in the middle of the road! He had crashed and I had
to break hard to miss him, then weave around him, so I lost even more
time on Boonen. But Tom was so strong at the end and he had a great
team. The only thing I didn't like about the race were the people
spitting on me and throwing beer in my face. That's not real cycling!
But I will be back again in Paris-Roubaix, don't worry!" After a few
weeks of recovery, Filippo Pozzato will gear up for the centenary
edition of the Giro d'Italia, which starts May 9th in Venezia Lido.
Da Boyz: World Champion Alessandro Ballan (L) and Filippo Pozzato (R)
(Photo: Road Bike Action)
We also had a chance to speak to two of Pozzato's good friends and
training partners, World Champion Alessandro Ballan, who has been laid
low this spring with a Cytomegalovirus infection that has been
difficult to recover from. "I'm not sure I'll be able to ride the Giro
d'Italia" Ballan told Road Bike Action. "There isn't much time to
prepare well...I've been off the bike for a while, almost one month and
to just come back like that is not easy and en vista del prossimo
Giro d'Italia. We'll see how it goes and I hope to have a good Tour De
France and a strong second half of the season." Ballan was a guest
commentator on Rai Sport TV for Paris-Roubaix where he comported
himself well but had some nostalgia for the Queen of the Classics,
saying "I really wanted to be there but that's cycling so I am now just
looking ahead at the next races."
Da Girlz: Estheticians in action at white opening
(Photo: Road Bike Action)
2009 is Matteo Tosato's 12th season as a pro and the experienced rider
from Castelfranco, just down the road from Rosa', who has won stages in
the Tour De France and Giro d’Italia was also at the White" party.
Coming up on his 35th birthday in May, Tosatto is one of Pozzato's
arch-rival Boonen's most loyal team riders, but off the bike, he and
Pippo and Ballan are good friends and often training partners in and around the Veneto region. Tosatto, who didn't finish
Paris-Roubaix due to a mechanical told Road Bike Action "Yesterday
(Sunday) was a very hard (race) because of the intensity of the racing.
Boonen was so strong and he's now won (Paris-Roubaix) three times which
is incredible. But Pippo (Pozzato) rode very well even without
teammates so I think he will be a protagonist in future editions."
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