Gap (AFP)

Three things to know about the Italian Matteo Trentin, winner on Wednesday at Gap of the 17th stage of the Tour de France.

. He is much more than a sprinter

"Who said this boy is a sprinter?" Joked the Mitchelton formation on Twitter about the Italian, impressing Wednesday in the Sentinel Pass to create the gap on his rivals.

Although he has sprinted most of his 23 professional successes (4 stages of the 2017 Vuelta), he has progressed a lot since the days when he started the sprints, in the Belgian team of Patrick Lefevere, for the British Mark Cavendish.

"Being at Mitchelton where we have specialists and where we often play the general classification has led me to be better in some areas.I'm sure I'm better in the mountains for two years," reacted the runner (29 years ) who joined the Australian formation in 2018. For proof, its presence at the front in the stage of Bagnères-de-Bigorre, the first in the Pyrenees.

. He loves cyclo-cross

"At the beginning of the Tour, I wrote a provocative tweet to report the victories of riders who went through cyclo-cross," says Trentin. "In Italy, disciplines other than the road are a little neglected.A rider does not necessarily have to cyclo-cross or track, but it can not hurt to touch other disciplines.

Trentin, who was at the time 3rd in a World Cup round, speaks from experience. "In the youth categories, my teams did not want me to ride cyclo-cross, I had to fight." One day, he even took a motorhome with a friend to travel on his own the 1200 kilometers separating the north of Italy from Belgium, the world center of the discipline.

. He has an assertive character

Trentin speaks loud and clear and knows what he wants, sign of a strong personality. During the winter of 2012, when none of his friends were available to accompany him on holidays to Brazil, he took his backpack and left alone.

In Gap, the 29-year-old Italian spoke so directly about the situation of Italian cycling: "She is not the one we are describing ... Too many people expect it to be like the good old time, when cycling was reduced to a few countries.Modern cycling no longer allows it.It may be lacking Italy a great runner for general rankings after Vincenzo (Nibali), it is hoped that Fabio (Aru) will resume Of course, it would be better to have two or three World Tour teams, but we are doing good work abroad and the young people coming in are strong and we are on the right track. "

© 2019 AFP