A conversation with professional cyclist Manuel Quinziato

Manuel, after a short winter break, the season started with your missions in Australia, Spain, France and Belgium. What conclusions do you draw from the first races? I actually never stopped training in order to prepare myself as best as possible for the new season. I had the biggest difficulties on the Tour Down Under. Before I left it was -10 degrees in Bolzano, and when I arrived at the airport in Australia the thermometer showed 40 degrees. The change took a lot of effort. Afterwards, my form continued to improve, even though I wasn't at 100 percent yet.

The year 2012 will be very intense, both for the BMC Racing Team and for the Italian national team. Which races will we see you in action at? My primary goal is to take part in the Tour de France. There we have to defend last year's victory of my teammate Cadel Evans. My job in the team is to bring stars like Evans and Philippe Gilbert forward. The BMC Racing Team is certainly the best team in the cycling circuit at the moment, comparable to FC Barcelona in football. For me it is a great honor to be part of this winning team.

Are the Olympics out of reach? I don't have too many hopes for this, as each nation is only allowed to field five riders in London. There are definitely some professionals ahead of me at the moment. My focus is rather on the World Championships in Valkenburg. The route there should suit me very well.

Can you tell us about the usual daily routine of a professional cyclist? When I'm not racing, I try to train for two to six hours every day. During preparation for the season, our alarm clock rang at 7.20:9.45 a.m. in camp. After breakfast, yoga was on the agenda before we got on the bike at XNUMX:XNUMX a.m. On intensive training days there was only time for massages and dinner. We finally had some time to relax before going to bed.

Alessandro Ballan, Cadel Evans, Philippe Gilbert, Tor Hushovd, these are just the most well-known athletes in the BMC star ensemble. Briefly describe your teammates to us… First of all, they are all complete professionals who subordinate everything to their success on the asphalt. My roommate Hushovd is a very simple, sociable guy, while Gilbert can definitely be described as a crazy bird. He always has a joke up his sleeve. Recently, for example, he stopped a training session to throw oranges at us from the side of the road. When racing, he is an absolute daredevil who is not afraid of taking any risks. Tour winner Evans, on the other hand, is much more reserved and sensitive, he doesn't let you get close to him. I have known Ballan since my youth and over the years we have formed a very close friendship.

What do you think about the current situation in cycling, which has recently generated a lot of negative headlines due to doping scandals?

It is frustrating to see how many people directly link cycling to doping without knowing the facts and background. I dare say that the current doping cases are black sheep. The countless checks and bans had a deterrent effect for many professionals. This is also the only way to definitely get this fraud in the sport under control and to get people excited about cycling again.

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A conversation with professional cyclist Manuel Quinziato

South Tyrol's best cyclist, 31-year-old Manuel Quinziato from Bolzano, answered questions from SportNews in the exclusive interview below...

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