My passion for endurance sports

The cycling of the great classics and stage races has always excited me. At home as a child I heard about Coppi and Bartali, and when I went to the mountains at 12/13 years old when they raced to overtake us we took the names of the cyclists, and I always took the name of Pambianco. Until I was 16 I did a lot of biking, starting in Turin and going into the mountains on military roads. With a Legnano with four gears.

Then I left the bike to go more frequently to the mountains, at that time these multi-day tours were not called trekking but mobile camp. Now I have started using it again, as running has become a bit too wearing. I always enjoy biking and it allows me to be in nature and outdoors. Biking, mountaineering and running are what I like to do and I am fortunate to have friends with whom I can do them even though I often find myself alone.

These activities have taught me to accept fatigue and to distribute physical and mental resources I learned when I was in middle school, and even at that age several friends were dropping out, precisely because they didn’t like facing fatigue, it was too cold or hot or you had to get up early in the morning. I don’t know where this motivation of mine comes from, I tried to play basketball, volleyball and soccer but they bored me while I always enjoyed going for a run or a bike ride. I was never interested in becoming an athlete, I wanted to study psychology and sometimes to achieve this goal or to establish myself as a professional I gave up sports, resuming it as soon as possible.

However, I wondered for what reasons I write these reflections. These days I am watching, when I can, the Tour de France and these thoughts came to my mind, how beautiful it is to be in the open air, to watch these young people struggle just when they are tired, to see them give their all what energy they have inside and, then away like that day after day for three weeks.

I feel fortunate to have had these passions but also to continue practicing them.