Manuel Belletti is on his way to becoming Italy's top sprinter and challenger to the world's best, Mark Cavendish. His short list of palmarès includes one stage of the Giro d'Italia, a sprint win ahead of Cavendish and yesterday, the final stage of the Giro di Reggio Calabria.
"When I won the [Giro] stage in Cesenatico, at home, a light turned on inside of me," Belletti, 25, told La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. "It was a dream come true. I felt like a man, a cyclist and a winner, all at the same time. I did not know whether to laugh or cry. I cried "
The Giro d'Italia stage last year finished five kilometres from his home in Cesena. American Craig Lewis almost denied Belletti of his win with a long attack. Belletti remained calm, followed the wheel of Greg Henderson and won the sprint.
The self-trust he gained that day allowed him win ahead of Cavendish at the Coppa Bernucci in August. It was not only Cavendish, Belletti also had Danilo Hondo, Tyler Farrar and Daniele Bennati behind him. The stars were absent yesterday, however, Belletti's win shows he is ready for an even bigger season.
"It's a matter of trust, peace, serenity," Belletti added. "I don't have an obsession to win, I don't have nightmares for finishing second place, I don't have the disappointment of third... What ever happens, happens."
Colnago-CSF Inox earned a spot to race Italy's most prestigious sprinters classic, Milano-Sanremo on March 19. Belletti will lead the team, though, his task becomes more difficult since Colnago failed to receive an invitation to the traditional race warm-up, Tirreno-Adriatico.
Belletti raced the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race last year, but abandoned mid-way through. One week later, he finished his first Milano-Sanremo, but 20 minutes behind winner Oscar Freire.
"I've never hidden the fact that since I was a baby it's been my favourite race," he said last year. "I was dropped on the Mànie climb, but I still continued to the end so that I could study and try it [the roads] for the coming years. If all goes well, I want to be amongst the front finishers next year."
To prepare for yesterday's win and the season, he has modified his training.
"No weights, but general exercises at the gym and in the pool. And then mountain biking. All this has helped my flexibility, my power, even uphill."