"Mamba Mentality might work in basketball, but not in cycling" - Tudor's sprinter on importance of balance in cyclist's training

Alberto Dainese joined the Tudor Pro Cycling Team in the 2024 cycling market from Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL. After an up and down first season, the Italian feels more settled in the team and hopes to make a quality leap in 2025. He will have more internal competition with the arrivals of stars like Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi, although they should be compatible because he is more of a sprinter while the star duo focus more on hilly classics.

"I finished the season with yet another crash," he assesses in an interview with Bici.pro sarcastically. "Both times I was out for a month, so I got away lightly both times. I finished the season early, in Hamburg. I did a month of physiotherapy and then resumed lightly. I also changed trainer, so the approach is slightly different. We'll see how it goes."

The coach in question moves a bit more towards materials and engineering aspects, so he stopped coaching some riders. "In the meantime, Erwin Borgonjon, Tim Merlier's former coach, came to Tudor Pro Cycling, and I'm lucky to have him as a reference. He coached the strongest sprinter in the world, on par with Milan, so I think he knows something."

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Changes in training

"I do fewer hours, let's say, so more specific and slightly different work in terms of preparing for the sprint. I also run quite a lot, so the hours on the bike are less, compensated by work in other disciplines, such as gym and running. I feel pretty good. Not doing too many hours per week makes me feel fresher than in the past, when I applied the Mamba Mentality," he refers to the trade mark of tragically deceased basketball legend Kobe Bryant whose training manthra was to always do more than what is necessary (in training).

"Maybe that works in basketball, but not in cycling, because I was always coming back from training exhausted," he laughs.

2025

"We have new signings that bring experience, like Haller. There's also Alaphilippe and Hirschi, but for the sprints I think Haller will be key. I don't hide the fact that my year wasn't the way I wanted it to be; I was always chasing. But it wasn't because of the team, it was because I had to get back in shape and overcome some adversity."

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