Cannondale Chairside Chats: Alan Marangoni (part one)

Cycling is a team sport and every team leader needs an engine to drive him to the finish line. Cannondale Pro Cycling has a strong engine, a backbone of riders, capable of winning races in their own right, who you’ll see setting tempo at the front of the bunch, chasing down breaks, delivering team leaders to the base of climbs and mustering the team in team time-trials.

Alan Marangoni (image: Cannondale)
Alan Marangoni (image: Cannondale)

Alan Marangoni is a key part of Cannondale’s engine. You’ll have seen him chasing down the break in last weekend’s Milano-Sanremo and he’s currently taking part in the trio of cobbled races in Belgium.

G4: I understand you were just nine years’ old when you won your first race?

AM: Yes, it was in a criterium. Not too many people watched. It was just parents and friends. It was exciting but I was really fearful during the race. I was thinking that if it didn’t go well, what would happen? That was stupid of me, no? But I was a child. I was very insecure as a child and cycling gave me more confidence. Cycling saved me.

G4: Do you come from a cycling family?

AM: My father followed cycling for many years and I used to go with him to watch the younger riders. So I asked him if I could ride too and it went good, no?

G4: Like a lot of Italian riders I understand you have a big fan club?

AM: Yes, it’s called “The Marangoni” and this is a fan club with a lot of friends with a passion for cycling who follow me during the season, particularly during the Giro d’Italia and any races near my home in Italy.

Here’s a short video put together by Alan’s fan club featuring photos of him throughout his career. I see some of the helmet styles have come back into fashion!

G4: Where is home?

AM: Cotignola, in Emila Romagna, halfway between Ravenna on the coast and Bologna. It’s nice there in the summer.

Last autumn Alan’s cycling club SC Cotignola organised a charity event, supported by a number of professional riders, including Cannondale team-mate Moreno Moser. The day’s racing featured a six-man team time-trial which included a professional rider, children’s cyclo-cross and an individual time-trial for the pros. Alan certainly comes from an area that loves its cycling.

In tomorrow’s part two we discuss style with Alan and discover who he thinks is the most stylish on Cannondale Pro Cycling’s roster.

 

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