Next year will be the seventeenth season in the pro ranks for Paolo Tiralongo. However, the Italian veteran has not lost his motivation and already made important goals both personally and for the Astana team in general.

”I have started again,” he tells Cyclingpro.net. “It seems like the season started yesterday but I already mind myself here at the start of my 2016 season. However, I am ready to focus on my objectives.

”Cycling is becoming globalized so it is normal to ride already now. I welcome the races and teams from overseas because we needed it. This is our work, we must do it and respect it for what we are asked to do.”

Tiralongo had a memorable 2015 season. After he had won a stage win in the Giro del Trentino, he helped Fabio Aru and Mikel Landa finish on the podium in the Giro d’Italia and even got a personal stage win along the way. He was ready to help Aru at the Vuelta a Espana too but unfortunately he was forced to leave on stage 3 following a bad crash on the previous stage.

”I am very satisfied,” he says about his 2015 season.” I got two wins and several places of honour, I was competitive from January until October as usual. My goal is to eventually be present in every race and put on a show for the people. Then we won the Vuelta, we lost in the Giro but we still won five stages so overall we are satisfied.”

Tiralongo is left with mixed emotions regarding his home grand tour.

“If I look back now, there is a little regret,” he says, “I think he [Aru] could have won the Giro. But against the obstacles you cannot do anything. We are happy because in any case we defended ourselves well in the end. He reacted to his travails in a big way by winning two stages, one of the most beautiful ones too, and eventually finished a close second. We could have had more if everything was normal but we are happy. We always aim to win because we work hard and meticulously and so we know that when we go to the races, we can reach the big goal. It was evident in the Vuelta and in other races in Italy with Nibali.”

When Aru finally reached his big goal in the Vuelta, Tiralongo was not at his side.

“There was some bad luck for me but I can say that I was present too,” he says. “I was not physically present but by phone I was there at all times when the boys were in trouble. I was present and then I left right away when they had reached the goal, and I went to Madrid to be there with them.

“Aru is growing and is starting to decide with his head. He makes his targets but he always asks for my advice. My relationship with him goes beyond cycling, there is much harmony among us. He is maturing much.”

Next year Aru will focus on the Tour de France and again Tiralongo will be a key support.

“Each race has its own story,” he says. “You have to build the story. Surely we'll be ready as in all the other races. We are not afraid of anyone because in the end we are a solid group. If everything goes as it should, we can fight for the primary objective. Now slowly we begin to do the basic work and then we see along the way. 

“My goal after seventeen years as a professional is to pass on my experience to the younger riders that are growing. Cataldo, Aru, Rosa are guys who have talent and I share my experience with them. I try to give advice and help them to grow. Then if I can carve out a little space for myself like I always have, I won’t hold anything back because I have shown that I am capable of winning.

“Our ambitions are many for 2016. What interests me is that the group is cohesive and that we fought to reach our goals. In the end, only one rider will win but we have to be present and show people that we are united and if we manage to do so, we can reach our goals. I do not want to have the regret of having to say that we did not even try.”

Aru is not the only young Italian climber at Astana. With victory in Milan-Turin and a great Il Lombardia, Diego Rosa has proved that he is ready to take the next step.

“For Diego Rosa, I see the future in the one-day races,” Tiralongo says. “From what I saw on the road, Rosa is perhaps the strongest of all in the one-day races. He has also been super strong on certain days in stage races but also had days when he was more tired. We need to see if he can get the consistency but on his great days he can make everybody suffer.”