While some of his fellow professionals are still on a break after racing until late in the season, Italian Classics specialist Damiano Cunego has been training away, building form before the start of the 2011 season. The 29 year old Lampre-Farnese Vini rider didn’t manage to clock up a win this year, and wants to put things right in the months ahead.
In effect, drawing a line under an unsatisfactory season allowed him to start preparing for what he hopes will be a better time ahead. “My last race in 2010 was the Giro di Toscano, which took place on 26 September, while usually my last appointment is the Giro di Lombardia,” he said. “So, now I find myself already pedalling…I began training in the early days of November.”
During his time off, he used the chance to catch up with his family, including his daughter Ludovica and his newborn son Cristian. He also went to some rallies to watch the racing, and drove karts. After that, refreshed, he returned to physical activity.
“I began to perform in a light way some physical exercises, such as fast walking around Cerro Veronese, swimming with my daughter Ludovica, but especially the gym at the Centro di Villafranca,” he explained. “I think the latter activity is very important in view of the resumption of the season: I did mainly gymnastics and exercises for the shoulders and the back.”
After that, it was time to get back to the bike. It’s an awkward transition at first but, in time, things settle in again and the suppleness returns. “As it happens every year, the first time I ride my bike after the winter break I feel like I had never been a cyclist: the bike seems to be something strange for my body, my back is rigid and my legs are hard," he admitted. "But this is a feeling that passes away soon and in the next training the bike again becomes my best friend.
“I’m doing simple training spins of 2 or 3 hours, very useful to improve the stamina. But no specific exercises [yet].”
Cunego had big hopes for 2010 but things didn’t quite click. He did take some solid results such as fifth in Flèche Wallonne, sixth in the Amstel Gold Race, tenth in the GP de Québec, second on a stage and eleventh overall in the Giro d’Italia and third and fourth on stages of the Tour de France. But there were no victories, no moments standing atop the podium. For a rider who won so much, so young, its something he wants to change for 2011.
He’s doing something different, and hopes that his work with Aldo Sassi and the others in the Mapei Centre can give him the boost he needs. He’s enthusiastic about it thus far: “This year I had the great opportunity to carry out tests at the Centro Mapei and to be supported by those there,” he said. “This was very useful in order to start to think about the upcoming season, and about winning.”