In the mixed relay on Wednesday 25 September, with Ganna and Affini, silver and bronze in the individual time trial, and with the other Italians Longo Borghini, Paladin and Realinithere will also be Mattia Cattaneothird in the time trial at the European Championships in Hasselt. The Soudal-Quick Step rider, super-gregarious of Remco Evenepoelgave an important interview to the Spanish portal in recent days Reliefin which he recounted his experience regarding the eating disorders and the stubborn pursuit of thinness in cycling. His reflections deserve to be read and committed to memory, especially by team managers, doctors and nutritionists. “I threw away the first part of my career because I ate badly and wanted to be as thin as possible.”
“Mistakes also on the part of my coaches”
Cattaneo, 33 years old, lost for a long period in the senior category despite an excellent engine shown in his youth, has been a professional since 2012 and has raced with the jerseys of Lampre, Androni and Soudal, with 4 successes, two of which were time trials. “I made mistakes, and so did my coaches who should have guided me in the right direction. When I started racing as a professional I had no strength, it was difficult for me to stay in the group even on the flat. In the following years I gained weight and ended up weighing 75 kilos, compared to 58 in the first period. Today I show up at the start of the grand tours weighing 68 kilos and if at the end of the race I reach 65, as has happened to me in the past, I I feel like I’ve reached the limit.”
“The problem is in the lower categories”
“Today” is Cattaneo’s reflection “there are four or five nutritionists for each World Tour team who monitor us and who don’t let our complexes affect us. The problem instead lies in the lower categories. When I was 20 I wasted four or five seasons. If the same thing had happened to me when I was 15 maybe it could have affected my growth and development as a person in the long term. This in my opinion is the biggest risk of ‘professionalising’ the lower categories. Young people are not always ready to make sacrifices and are not followed by people capable of guiding them. What happened to me can happen to them. I saw professionals who were 30 years old, I admired them because they were thin and I was convinced that I had to be thin to be like them, and then I realized I had no strength.”
The turning point
The turning point came in Androni, starting in 2017: “Gianni Savio and Androni saved me. They believed in me and helped me find my balance. I’m at Soudal Quick-Step thanks to them. I say the same thing to all my colleagues, the important thing is to have good advice and find the balance, I would like it to be possible for everyone.”
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– 2024-10-07 01:00:58
