“It won’t be like this every year”. Simon Guglielmi is well aware of how lucky he is in his first ever Grand Tour. The 23-year-old Frenchman coming from the “development team” is currently competing in the Giro with Arnaud Démare, and he has actively contributed to the French champion’s successes in Italy. In the morning of the first rest day, the rider from Chambéry sat down for a few minutes to come back on a very special start to the race.
Simon, how do you feel physically on this Monday morning?
I had a good sleep (smiles). I was very tired last night after the long mountain stage, but this morning I’m fine. I intend to make the most of this day to recover well, because the race still took its toll. I had never experienced nine consecutive days so difficult. It is a bit like what we can find on the Tour de l’Avenir or the Baby Giro, but the stages are much longer. For the U23, a stage is usually around 140-160 kilometers long. Here, it sometimes goes up to 200-220, with a lot of elevation gain. Spending six or three hours on the bike is not the same at all. After 3-4 days, we already feel the pain in the legs, and then you have it every morning. You eventually get used to living with it. The staff gives its 100% to put us in the best possible condition, and on our part, we just have to be involved in the recovery process. It goes through pressotherapy sessions, stretching. I also try to lie down as much as possible, eat well, go to sleep as soon as possible. These are small things but it makes the difference over time. So far, this is more or less what I expected. The only tricky thing is sleep. Due to the emotions we experienced, the stress and the atmosphere of the race, I sometimes have a hard time falling asleep. That being said, I think I manage it well overall; I’m not cooked yet (smiles). I can’t wait for it to start again EVEN THOUGH I really intend to recover today.
“It is the best life I could imagine”
For your first Grand Tour, everything seems to be going well.
Yes, and many have told me, “It won’t be like this every year.” We have already won three stages in the first week, which is really great. I have a lot of fun but I also gain a lot of experience, whether by pulling for sprints or by learning how to handle tough stages. I even experienced an echelons stage! In nine days of racing on the Giro, I think I learned more than if I had done 2-3 seasons among the pros but without a Grand Tour. It’s really awesome, I couldn’t ask for a better debut. If I had been told two years ago that I would be at the start of the Giro, I wouldn’t necessarily have believed it. Then, if I had been told that we would have won a stage or two, I would have already thought that was very good. Now, we already got three! I said yesterday to my masseur Stéphane: “I am living a dream, but I’m a protagonist in this dream!“ I’m experiencing what I dreamed of growing up: doing a Grand Tour and winning stages with a leader. It is the best life I could imagine.
Can you tell us about the origin of your participation in the Giro?
Initially, I was supposed to do the Classics, not the Giro. On a side note, I was in Annecy, walking with my girlfriend when I received a call from Sébastien Joly. He lives there, I told him I was there and he offered to have a drink together. He had something to tell me. We met on a terrace, had a quick drink and he said: “you are going to do the Giro”. I was a little surprised, but I told him right away that I was 100% down for it. He explained to me that my role would be to ride for Arnaud, to help him for the sprints and to stay with him on the mountain stages. I immediately said yes, and as soon as he left I called my coach Anthony Bouillod to tell him. I then had a month to get ready. I rode on the flat a lot, at a tempo pace. I did different sessions than what I’m used to, but it pays off, so it’s great.
You have joined Arnaud’s group, which is very established. Did you manage to find your place quickly?
I had ridden very little with them. I just saw them a bit at the start of the season in Calpe, but they’re a great group. They are all very nice, serene and I had no trouble fitting in. They immediately reached out to me. At first, I was a bit quiet and especially attentive, but now I feel that I have found my place. They are really used to racing together, they know each other by heart on and off the bike. It’s a hard care, but they made us feel very comfortable right away. There is a great atmosphere and I am happy to have joined this group. On difficult days, we stick together, boost each other and try to be as united as possible. Arnaud’s victories also come from there. The team knows how to work together, we all do the maximum for one another, and that is also why it works. We talk a lot outside too, we spend a lot of time eating together. We tell each other personal stories, our experiences, our travels. We also talk about our cultures because there are many nationalities represented in this group. It is also very interesting to listen to each other’s experiences.
“I realized even more how rewarding it can be to be a teammate”
As you said, your initial role was to pull for Arnaud. However, your performances seem to exceed expectations on this Giro. Are you surprised yourself?
I wouldn’t say surprised because I really stacked the odds in my favour to be at my best in this race. For a month, I’ve been optimizing everything in terms of diet, recovery and training. I really did my best to get here in the best conditions. I had a lot of ambitions regarding my own level of performance on this Giro. Therefore, I’m not surprised, but I’m rather happy to see that it works well, because I did everything to be so. I’m doing my best to fulfil the mission the team gives me, but if I can do a little more, why not do it? If I am able to give more and better, I want to do it.
In particular, you were one of Arnaud’s last teammates when he won at Matera. Can you tell us about this finale?
When I looked at the profile the day before, I already thought: “the last steep climb perfectly suits my puncher qualities”. During the race, I stayed in Arnaud’s wheel for the whole climb. I could see he was trying to manage his effort as well as possible so that he could sprint afterwards. It was the first time I had this thrill of being in the heart of the action, two kilometers from the finish. I probably made a few small mistakes, and we talked about them afterwards. It was logical in a way, as it was my first time being there. I wanted to bring him back to the front too quickly, I lost him a bit with a kilometre to go, but in the final straight, I heard the speaker shouting “Démare, Démare, Démare” and I saw him raise his arms. It was a lot of emotions.
What does a teammate feel when he sees his leader winning on a Grand Tour?
It is very special. It was even more so on this stage, because I really experienced it “live”, from the inside. It was as if I had won myself. It’s a lot of emotions and it’s really hard to describe… We do an individual sport, but it’s 100% a team sport. From the moment I crossed the line, saw him at the finish, I went through a few very, very emotional minutes, and I rarely had such a feeling. Seeing it instead of hearing it on the radio makes it even more intense and allows you to enjoy it even more. With Kono, we were really happy on the home stretch. Being in the heart of the action obviously had an impact, but it’s also powerful because you realize how important it is. We’ve been thinking about this race for several weeks, we knew what we were coming for: stage wins. I realized even more in this Giro how rewarding it can be to be a teammate and to give 100% for your leader. At the end of the day, these emotions are also incredible from a personal point of view.
“I enjoyed every stage”
From a personal point of view, precisely, what stages did you have the most fun in?
I had a lot of fun right away, in the opening time trial, because I tried to go for the King of the Mountains jersey. It immediately gave me some adrenaline. Then, there are obviously the other two stages won by Arnaud. On one of them, we pulled very hard in the finale with Kilian so that Gaviria would not come back. In the radio, the DS were encouraging us, they would tell us “come on guys, he’s still 20 seconds behind”. There was also a lot of adrenaline at that point as well. Then, in stage 7, I happened to surpass myself. I was like “there’s a big chance that Arnaud wins this one”, and that makes you want to give 200% even more. The mountain stages, with rain and cold, are obviously tougher. It’s not super fun at the time, but in the evening, we laugh about it. At the end of the day, these are also very good memories and good experiences. Eventually, I enjoyed every stage since the start.
What to expect now?
I will take it day by day. Normally, there should be a few more sprints. I am really motivated to give my best again and to support Arnaud as well as possible so that he can win other stages. It would be great. Then we’ll see. If there are individual opportunities, I will try to seize them, but that is not my role for now. My role is to help Arnaud. I enjoy doing it so much, it gives me so much emotion, that even if I had to experience “only” that on this Giro, it would already be huge and more than enough.
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