Filippo Baroncini can't skip steps in a fight for the spot on UAE's classics "A" team: "The results in the semi-classics show that you can compete in the major classics too"
Cycling
Filippo Baroncini may be far from the most striking name on UAE Team Emirates - XRG roster, however that doesn't take away from his qualities as a cyclist. Winner of the Super 8 Classic last year, the versatile 24-year-old has a knack for classics where he'd like to leave his mark this spring.
In an interview for bici.pro, Baroncini looks forward to his impending race schedule that features almost exclusively one-day races: "I would like to have my freedom in all of them, but the one I care about the most is definitely the revenge at the GP de Denain, where I broke my elbow last year. It was very unlucky and I would really like to redeem myself."
Can the Italian count on having a protected role within the stacked UAE Team Emirates - XRG? "As for the roles of captain, we will see: I will race alongside riders like Wellens, Pollitt and Morgado, who are growing a lot," he notes about the other strong leaders.
After having warmed up at the 1.Pro races of this week, the real action will take off next week. Any race in particular that could suit Baroncini? "As for this week's races, I think that Gent Wevelgem is a race that is a little closer to my characteristics. But all these races in Belgium, apart from the great classics, require a mix of speed and resistance."
Above all, he wishes to evade an injury though, unlike like last year: "My hope is to be able to avoid unexpected events such as punctures, falls... And if everything goes well, the sensations are good."
Is he thinking about competing for a result at the Monumental classics like Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix? "Yes there is a possibility," he assures, "but I would like to be able to do well in the smaller races before focusing on those races. It is important because the results in the semi-classics show that you can compete in the major classics too, so I try to take things day by day."
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- You are completely wrongvappaxbipmv05-04-2025
- Tadej has a little more chance. It will be an exciting race and the most important thing is that no one gets hurt.
maria2024202405-04-2025 - Whatever happens tomorrow... it'll be a hell of a raceslappers6605-04-2025
- Exactly Tadej, the cancer of modern society. Full of good-for-nothing people who gain visibility and importance on social media mocking, humiliating (and worse things) to earn money. But it's the follower's fault, no followers, no "influencers".maria2024202405-04-2025
- Great commentCaralladas05-04-2025
- i’m such a sucker for those group-hug, happy ending moments between competitors, largely because it’s so WASN’T that way in my younger, stronger days. (on that note, i have this hope that somewhere down the road, maybe fifteen or twenty years, a middle aged wout and mathieu will go for a pleasure ride together in flanders, and reminisce about the days when they were the young, strong monsters that stalked the cobbles.)OCexile05-04-2025
- Just like Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Ronde van Vlaanderen was/is NOT on MAX. Get your facts straight.Ben04-04-2025
- You might bounce more for the same power, but not the same speed. Sending 20 kgs over a jump at 20 kph will fly just as far as 10 kgs at the same speed. Again, Galileo demonstrated this.acem8204-04-2025
- So, you're saying that doing a bunch of small hops on a bike is easier if you're heavier? Why do people buy lighter bikes, then? Why do they generally feel better and faster? An appeal to "rhythm" is not helpful either, as the right "rhythm" might be on the lighter or heavier side of things, and as it varies, it's likely a wash either way. Then we are left with the physics truth that it takes less power to lift lighter things than heavier things.acem8204-04-2025
- No, weight doesn't affect the ability to go into the wind at all. It's all CdA vs power at that point. For example, it's "obvious" that a heavier object falls faster than a lighter one. But, absent wind resistance, it's not true (Galileo demonstrated this). An appeal to "obviousness" doesn't matter when the physics is clear. And yes, you have to be able to hold everything else constant, or you can't determine anything! So, imagine a 300 watt rider at 80 kgs with a CdA of 2.0, then imagine that same rider at 70 kgs with a CdA of 2.0. (Assume ideal tire pressure for both, same bike.) Which one can ride over a bumpy road fastest? The lighter one, as he doesn't have to lift as much. That's also why when they test bikes on 5 star cobbled sectors, the MTB goes faster than even a cobble-build road bike. Even though rolling resistance is higher on a flat road, and the CdA is junk, it smooths out the cobbles, allowing the person to not lift as much as they otherwise would.acem8204-04-2025