"I had no strength" - Mattia Cattaneo admits huge mistakes when it came to eating and weight as a pro

Mattia Cattaneo has been on a roll recently. After a brilliant set of performances at the Vuelta a España the Italian also rode to a third place at the European Championships time-trial. He has truly found the best legs in his career, but is very open about mistakes that he and his former teams have done in the past when it came to his weight.

"I'm not a guy who hides or makes up excuses. I know perfectly well why I threw away the first part of my professional career. I ate badly because I wanted to be as thin as possible," Cattaneo admitted in an interview with Relevo. "I made mistakes and the technicians who should have guided me in the right direction made mistakes. I had no strength and it was hard for me to keep up with the peloton even on the flat".

The Italian said he weighed 59Kg when he turned pro, reached as high as 75Kg, but currently is in the middle: "Now I show up to the Grand Tours at 68 kilos. And, if I finish them at 65 as has happened to me on occasion, I feel like I'm at the limit." More and more often we hear stories of riders performing better at superior weights - including in the climbs, where Cattaneo thrived at the Vuelta. Because of what he has experienced, he is very keen in warning the new generations into the dangers of undereating.

"This is, in my opinion, one of the great dangers of the professionalization of cadets or juniors. Teenagers are not always prepared for these sacrifices, nor surrounded by people capable of guiding them," he adds. "It can happen to them like it did to me. I saw 30-year-old professionals, I admired them for being thin and I was convinced that I had to be 'skinny' to ride like them. And then, as I saw that I lacked strength, I overdid it with my eating…"

Cattaneo, who turned pro in 2013, says that it was only when he took a step down from the World Tour in 2017 to Androni Giocatolli that his level truly eevolved. "There they rescued me, they trusted me, and they helped me find balance. If I'm in Soudal-Quick Step it's thanks to them".