Video: Mario Cipollini trains with MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss

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Mario Cipollini made headlines recently when he announced his intentions to return to professional cycling and ride the Giro d’Italia aged 45. While it remains to be seen if we will indeed see the Lion King roar again on the big stage, Cipollini has been putting in the miles in recent weeks to prove his mettle.

He recently joined up with the MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss squad at Bardolino on the ambient shores of Lake Garda for a day of training and tactical discussion. Cipollini of course provides frames to the women’s team, but he was also happy to offer his technical advice to a squad which boasts stand-out talents such as Monia Baccaille, Tatiana Guderzo, Mata Bastianelli and Valentina Carretta.

“I’m convinced that this movement needs more attention and much more professionalism,” MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss manager Alessia Piccolo said. “For this reason, I hope to have given my girls a nice present by putting a great champion like Mario Cipollini at their disposal. He was very kind in lending himself to the initiative, and passed on a lot to the athletes both in terms of training methods and the life of an athlete in general.”

The day began with breakfast, where Cipollini passed on his nutritional advice, and he then led a stretching and core exercise session before joining the squad in a training ride on Lake Garda. Their work-out included a number of sprint drills, and Cipollini concluded the day by passing on some of his extensive knowledge on forming a successful sprint train.