U23 stage in Sestriere for Alessandro Fancellu and Antonio Puppio

The Kometa-Xstra Cycling Team riders Alessandro Fancellu and Antonio Puppio are in the winter resort of Sestriere in the context of a concentration in altitude promoted by the Italian Cycling Federation that started last Wednesday 1st July and will last until Tuesday 14th of this month.

Davide Cassani, coordinator of the Italian teams, and Marino Amadori, responsible for the U23 riders within the federation’s organisation, drew up a list of eleven riders that has taken into account the talents of the Contador Foundation’s continental team.

The Kometa-Xstra Cycling Team brings two riders to this meeting, as well as the Colpack-Ballan Team and the Biesse Arvedi. A former member of the continental team, Michele Gazzoli, now with Colpack, is also at the Alpine winter sports centre.

“It’s been a magnificent experience, training and enjoying the pleasant temperature of the mountain”, says Antonio Puppio, “The truth is that you have to climb quite a lot, there’s no other way and even less in an environment like this, but there’s no other way. Outside the competition you can also enjoy everything in a different way. We have climbed, among others, Montgenevre, Chaussy, L’Echelle, Jafferau, Sestriere by two slopes…”.

“In a sports structure like ours we are very sensitive to appeals from national teams, and we facilitate them as long as they do not directly interfere with the teams’ competitions. For the boys it is an additional source of motivation and a sign that their work does not go unnoticed; and the same conclusion can be drawn for the whole team itself at a more managerial level,” says Felix Garcia Casas.

(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)