Filippo Pozzato, who is currently present at the Giro d'Italia, is thinking about his future. The Italian rider told Cyclingnews that this 2016 Giro d'Italia will not be his last. But he confirmed that he would like to manage a pro team after his pro career.
"I haven't won for a while and so I think I'm just missing that edge, to take a few risks and win. I just need to 'osare', as we say in Italian. I need to fight more, push it to the limit and go for it. I'm perhaps a little blocked psychologically. Of course the reality is that it's now harder than ever to win. The level is really high in professional cycling these days", the Wilier Trestina Southeast rider explained. "I had a complicated week before the race, attending two funerals for family and friends but I hope to ease myself into form in the first week and then come good later on. There are several stages where a break could stay away in the second week and I hope to get into one of them."
He added that he would like to manage his own team, like Patrick Lefevere with Etixx-Quick Step. "I've got a contract for 2017 but it's true you can always rip up a contract. (...) But I'd love to stay in the sport (after his retirement) and do something special and I'm already thinking about my future. I'd like to have my own team but do something new, something different. I'd like to build a team around the riders and also ensure that the sponsors all work together with the team. That doesn't really happen very much or very well at the moment."
Pozzato prefers to create an international team like Team Sky : "I'd like to do things properly. My goal is to create a WorldTour team with a structure that also has a junior team and a development squad. Of course I know it might have to start off as a Professional Continental team but I'd want to be the best out there, the Team Sky of the Professional Continental ranks. We used to dismiss British riders until a few years ago and now look at them. Britain used to be way down the nations rankings but is now up to fifth. They're one of the new countries out there and are leading the way. Eastern Europe will be next thanks to the success of Peter Sagan, then there's the whole Colombian movement. They're changing the sport and it's not just about Europe, about Italy, Spain, France and Belgium anymore. The sport is becoming more and more global and we've got to think differently if we want our sport to grow and improve."
"Team Sky's set-up is very good but I think it can be improved. They look at things their way but if you bring several smart minds together, you can improve everything. Patrick Lefevere is a good example of how to go global. He had a Belgian team but in recent years has become far more international by signing great German riders, and others. He was the best at understanding the future of pro cycling. Others teams have lost their sponsors and disappeared but he is still in the sport and at the highest level. Now he's got Lidl as an important sponsor and German sponsor. Lefevere is perhaps a role model for what I'd like to do."
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