Aggressive riding and several strong showing have not been enough for Antonino Parrinello. The talented Italian finds himself without a contract at the end of October after Androni-Venezuela decided not to renew his existing agreement.
In recent years, it has become increasingly common to find riders who don't know about their future just two months before the new season. One of them is Antonino Parrinello who did a good 2014 in the jersey of Androni - Venezuela . Born in 1988, the Sicilian achieved good results both in Italy and abroad and showed himself in WorldTour races, most notably in Milan-Sanremo where he was part of a long breakaway from the early parts of the race.
"I am currently without a team," he tells Spaziociclismo. "I realize that it is hard to find a solution at the moemnt. I have some contracts but for now it is just taleking and nothing certain."
Being young with room for improvement, Parrinello makes no secret of the fact that he is "disappointed" not to stay at Gianni Savio's team, referring to his solid results.
"If we remove Rabottini [who tested positive for EPO], I am ninth in the individual classification of the Coppa Italia, with more than 100 points," he says. "So it's wrong that I am in this situation and now face the risk of ending my dream. I think I have much more to give to cycling."
The fear of having to give up the sport for which he has worked hard for years, is strong, especially because of the fact that he moved to Tuscany at a young age to pursue his dream. Being convinced that he has done everything right, he finds it difficult to accept his situation.
"Even my agent was convinced that I would be signed again," he said. "So we arrived at the end of the season with no real options. They told me that they did not want to renew my contract and so we started off on the wrong foor. I tried to do the work while others didn't and am pleased with that."
There are still several weeks until the start of the 2015 season and it is possible that he can still find openings in the near future, maybe at a continental team. However, his desire is to find a "valid option" where he has "the right conditions to do his work."
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