'I'm the last of the romantic racers' - Alberto Bettiol returns to the Tour of Flanders with form and ambition
EF Education rider balances his emotive style of racing with life in the modern peloton
Alberto Bettiol is an emotive, enigmatic person and an instinctive racer but his recent results and performances have convinced him that he can take on Mathieu van der Poel and anyone else at Sunday's Tour of Flanders.
Bettiol and his EF Education-EasyPost team sense that he is on a roll this spring after winning Milano-Torino and making the selection on the Poggio, and finishing fifth at Milan-San Remo.
Bettiol avoided the crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen that took out Van Aert and Jasper Stuyven but was then struck by a cramp when he attacked alone with 20km to go. That ended his race, but no doubt made him and EF Education-EasyPost focus on their feeding strategy for Sunday.
There was no result to show it but Bettiol's performance at Dwars door Vlaanderen confirmed that he is a contender for the Tour of Flanders. There is a real sense and a real chance he could repeat his 2019 Tour of Flanders victory.
Bettiol initially struggled to handle life after such a huge success and the COVID-19 pandemic. He then suffered from chronic ulcerative colitis, which inflamed his intestine and impacted his immune system.
Yet he fought back and proved his ability with his daring attack at the 2023 road race World Championships in Glasgow. He hit out alone with 55km to race on the tough Glasgow circuit and stayed out front until Van der Poel, Wout Van Aert, and Tadej Pogačar passed him with a lap and a half to race.
As he prepares mentally and physically for the Tour of Flanders, Bettiol finds strength and conviction from his biggest performances.
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“I’ve shown that when I’m on form, I have a chance of winning, even in the biggest races, against the biggest riders,” Bettiol tells Cyclingnews in an exclusive interview.
“The five monuments in 2023 were won by just three riders: Pogačar, Van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel, and Visma won all three Grand Tours. It’s a pretty exclusive sport these days, so it’s pretty impressive just being able to at least take them on.”
Bettiol has some major goals for 2024, even beyond the Classics. If he secures a place in the eight-rider EF Education-EasyPost roster, Bettiol could be the only Tuscan rider to be at the Tour de France Grand Depart in Florence.
The Italian national championships are in Tuscany the week before and so he dreams of starting the Tour in a fresh green, white and red ‘tricolore’ jersey. He also hopes to be part of the three-rider Italian team for the Olympic road race in Paris, where he fancies his chances in the uncontrollable 90-rider peloton and the decisive Montmartre laps.
“I just hope that 2024 is going to be a great year for me and gives me something,” Bettiol says to Cyclingnews, in a kind of act of prayer for the season.
A career that spans generations and contrasting mentalities
Bettiol turned 30 during the winter, and 2024 is his eleventh season at the WorldTour level. The sport has evolved rapidly around him as he has raced at Cannondale, BMC, and then with EF since 2019.
“I’ve learnt to take the rough with the smooth during my career because I know that pro cycling is so hard and so demanding, but I still enjoy it,” he says with genuine enthusiasm.
“I’m 30 now and know I can’t make the same mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, even Pogačar and Van der Poel, but I probably make more mistakes than most other riders, and I’ve got to improve on that. I’m working hard not to make the same mistakes. You can never stop learning and never stop working.”
Bettiol’s career has spanned generations and contrasting mentalities. EF Education-EasyPost has signed a number of young riders who are ten years younger. So many aspects of the sport have changed since Bettiol made his professional debut at the 2014 Tour Down Under.
"I’m the last of the romantic racers,” he suggests.
“I live for the emotions of life. The young riders are more robotic and scientific in the way they do things. I live for racing, not for training. I love sprinting for signs and going hard on climbs rather than following my training schedule to the letter.
“I live for the process and the journey and, of course, for the emotions of winning. I love preparing for the Classics, the World Championships or the emotions of riding, suffering and finishing the Tour de France. That’s what cycling is about, right?”
Bettiol started racing with Peter Sagan at Cannondale when the Slovakian had so much talent he would only start training on his bike at a team training camp in mid-December but still win big every spring.
Bettiol won the 2019 Tour of Flanders ahead of Kasper Asgreen and Alexander Kristoff. Now he is racing against Pogačar, Van der Poel and Evenepoel and a new post-Covid generation of young talent.
He wants to avoid being seen as the moaning old pro of the peloton. He is more like an older brother who is genuinely concerned about the new generation.
“The young guys seem to have everything so dialled in; they seem so much smarter than my generation. But I’m also worried about them. They’ve perhaps lost the emotive side of racing,” Bettiol suggests.
“They’re focused on their watts per kilo, their aerodynamics and live on their mobile phones. They’re young but mature too, but without having learned how to do things by experiencing them. It’s all been explained to them, or they studied it all online. But they haven’t lived it. I don’t think the new generation will last very long, one by one they’ll realise that life is passing them by.”
Bettiol has learnt to adapt to stay sane and stay competitive in the peloton. He knows he has to embrace modern cycling if he is to survive, but he is not afraid to post his birthday meal at a Michelin three-star restaurant on Instagram or speak from the heart. He won Milano-Torino wearing a skinsuit and POC’s new aero helmet but holds onto his emotive outlook on life and racing.
“Obviously, I know there’s no room for nostalgia in our sport. We can’t look back to how cycling was a decade ago or even five years ago. You’ve got to accept it; you've got to keep improving year on year; otherwise, you go backwards,” he says.
“I’m trying to find a balance in my life and career that helps me win and enjoy myself.
“I think what I’ve experienced and learnt over the last ten years is an advantage. I‘ve got to use that wisely while adapting to modern-day cycling. If I can do that, it can make a difference, and it can be a winning edge.”
“I’ve won the Tour of Flanders, I feel it's where I belong"
Bettiol crashed hard during the opening kilometres of E3 Saxo Classic last Friday and he didn’t ride Gent-Wevelgem to help his recovery. His cramps during Dwars door Vlaanderen were a disappointment but he feels ready for the Tour of Flanders.
Bettiol is convinced he has not lost the form he showed in Italy, nor the desire to repeat his Tour of Flander success of 2019. With Neilson Powless sidelined by a knee injury since Tirreno-Adriatico and Rui Costa out of action after fracturing his collarbone at the Volta ao Algarve, Bettiol will lead EF Education-Easypost on Sunday.
“My ribs hurt, but I can manage the pain. It won’t affect my race on Sunday,” he says with conviction.
“I’ve won the Tour of Flanders; I feel it's where I belong. So I’m not under any pressure, but it’d be great to be up there again.”
Bettiol stayed in Belgium to have treatment and receive support from the EF Education-Easypost staff. He watched Gent-Wevelgem on television with admiration as Lidl-Trek outnumbered and then isolated Van der Poel. Dwars door Vlaanderen gave him a final indication that he is on form.
The Tour of Flanders is a longer, harder monument Classic, with the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg finale again likely to inspire attacks and make the decisive selection as it did in 2019. Bettiol hopes to play off the strength of other teams and perhaps be in the action once again.
“Lidl-Trek were impressive at Gent-Wevelgem, and I think they’ll try to do the same again on Sunday with Mads Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven, Jonathan Milan and Toms Skuijns,” Bettiol suggests.
“Visma has to try to do the same and support Van Aert with Jorgenson and others, so they’ll try to match and take on Van der Poel with their combined strength. I suspect it’s going to be a tough race on Sunday, like when QuickStep used to kick off the race early. We should be ready for anything.
“Lidl-Trek have shown that when Van der Poel isolated, he can be beaten. That gives us all hope and a chance of victory. He suddenly seems human after all."
Bettiol is from the Tuscan countryside between Florence and Siena but he 'feels' the Tour of Flanders like a Flemish rider.
“If you have the privilege to win this race, then you really understand the importance of it,” he says.
"It's a masterpiece of cycling, something holy and sacred for the Flemish people. I love the passion that they have. They wait for one year for this race, and I feel a sense of responsibility to do my best for them, because of the history, because they write my name on the asphalt. I am one of the few guys in the peloton who have seen what it means to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen."
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
