Having signed with Southeast Cycling Team, Alessandro Petacchi will prolong his career and he has spoken about what his role at the team will be in 2015 to Ciclismo Internacional.

“I though I was going to stop after OPQS, but (team director Angelo) Citracca called me and he told me he had a lot of young guys and he wanted me for my experience. We spoke 5 or 6 times about the project, the season and the races. My teammates are very young and I think I can speak with them and help with training, tactics in the sprint and the Giro.”

“When I change team, I need a motivation, a stimulus. When I think only train and race, for work, it’s not good. I have won so much. I need something else to help me continue. I now have young guys, okay it’s not a big team, but that means there is less stress. For me, now, this is good.”

Petacchi spent 2014 working as a leadout man for Mark Renshaw and Mark Cavendish, but he managed to take a win at 40 years old: the GP Pino Cerami.

“Normally I work for Mark(Cavendish) or sometimes Renshaw. In Cerami, my condition was better, so the team wanted to work for me. A couple of days before, in Scheldeprijs, I did a shit sprint and finished 4th. But I thought it was okay as my condition was good and I could try and win Cerami. I did a really good sprint, because it’s a 300/400m rise at 2%. I was really happy as I won at 40 years old. It was important for me and the team. I really enjoyed it, as I signed for the team to work for Mark and some others, so I only had 1 or 2 opportunities but I won. It’s good, no?”

2014 may have been the year where he rode his final Tour de France, but he may not have ridden his last three-week race, as his new employers want him at the 2015 Giro d’Italia.

“The team wants me to go to the Giro. I am behind in my training because I spoke with Citracca for 1 month and although I did train, it wasn’t with the same intensity. Now I start and maybe I ride in February, in Etruschi, I don’t know. I have time to get in shape for the Giro and Sanremo. Maybe I can do 10/12 races before Sanremo. I need to do a lot of training now. I need to get behind the Vespa. I need just one guy and a Vespa for my training!”

He has spoken to Citracca about what he will do after his racing career is done, which many people expect to happen at the end of 2015.

“I spoke with Citracca about the future. He says, if I want, I can stay in the team and work with the young guys. In October/November, when I was unsure if I’d race again, I started to work with Michele Bartoli, to help as a trainer. I like working with the guys for training, looking at things like their position on the bike. Once when I went out on my bike, I stopped an amateur guy and I said to him that I didn’t like his bike! It was too short.”

“I train with 3 to 4 amateurs. They are really young guys, around 20 years old. They following me everyday, I like this. They want to study. They want to learn from my experience. This is good. I speak to them a lot, as they are the future of cycling.”