Marco Melandri this year will ride with Team WeRide Fulgur with the aim of doing well in the e-EDR (e-mtb) World Cup: Marco knows that winning will be very difficult but he is a thoroughbred horse and will do his best to achieve the best possible results.
1) It seems that e-mtb racing is re-emerging your competitive character.
Yes, definitely yes. My competitive character emerges even if it's a regional or minor race: once I'm at the starting gate, the adrenaline is there, the racing spirit emerges. This is fantastic: the passion for cycling came when I stopped riding motorcycles and it filled a void I thought I had: that is, the lack of adrenaline. I didn't even have a chance to think about it and I entered a world that has become my life.

2) How did the partnership with WeRide Fulgur Factory Team come about?
With Fulgur the idea was born for the common competitive goals, on the other hand because I moved to Lugano in Switzerland and the Swiss Team WeRide (who is from Lugano, ed) becomes the official Fulgur Polini Team. It was fate that brought us together: the M33 e-mtb was born from this beautiful collaboration, which will be the top of the Fulgur enduro range. It will be interesting because different importers from different countries have applied to promote the bike: I will do various events around Europe.
3) Have you already had the opportunity to ride with your new teammates from Team Fulgur? Who do you see best?
With the new companions we did a sort of team building, photo-shooting and video presentation. For the first time I saw Nicolai (2nd in EWS in 2019 behind Sam Hill) up close: the lightness with which the electric bike carries is incredible. The elegance and style it has are unique, it's not for nothing that the results speak for themselves. with Mirco (Harvest, ed) we've known each other for some time, he was one of the first I met when I entered the bike world. I see it very clearly on this mtb: when I ride with him I like to look at his riding style, what makes him different from me and I try to learn. Sometimes I ask him for advice while other times I try to figure out the details on my own but it's a stimulus and above all a fortune to ride with people of this caliber in order to improve.


4) Are you taking the 2023 vintage seriously in terms of training?
Yes, I'm taking it seriously, in the sense that having the excuse of promoting the Fulgur M33 and having to compete I have the extra motivation to train more. It's something I've always wanted to do, which is to be physically fit, because I want to see where I can go. On the technical side, on the other hand, it's not easy to make the leap in quality, especially in the strait: I kind of miss this "skill" and I don't think I'll be able to improve it much anymore. In terms of training, I've traveled a bit, put on some leg, even if I'm resting now since I've gone into overtraining: I wasn't used to training with this intensity on my bike.
5) E-EDR World Cup: Will you take part in all stages? Do you already feel ready for the international comparison?
Yes, I will do all e-EDR. I'm still trying to understand a little the PRO entry methodology because in the electric world there is no real UCI score. However having won the Italian category and the EWS Master 35 category, I hope I'm entitled to the passage. With the arrival of TV there will be more visibility but they will certainly give priority to the PRO, not the amateur categories, that's why I aim to move up to the higher category, aware that I can't go there to win. I would like to try racing in Scotland too in the format cross country electric (world) since there should also be Sagan, Colombo and other noble names. The world of e-bikes, at an amateur level, is a sector that is experiencing a crazy sales boom and therefore it may be that it attracts even more strong athletes to promote this discipline.

6) What will be your racing calendar for 2023 beyond the World Cup?
My calendar will be quite busy because I will be doing several races. I won't completely abandon the world of motors (I'm probably planning to do car races) so I could skip a few stages on the bike but the e-EDRs will take precedence. Then there will be the Italian enduro (single test), the Tuscan Enduro Series (TES) with Elba among my favourites, the e-enduro and some proof of Senators Cup. The Swiss Enduro I'd really like to do it but it's not clear how many electric races there will be: it could be the right excuse to try a muscle bike but I don't have one right now, we'll think about it.
7) If you look at the 2020 Melandri, the one who got off the bike immediately got on the e-mtb, do you notice a lot of difference on a technical level?
Technically the difference is huge! I was born with bmx, even though it wasn't as technical as it is now, so I thought I'd start from a higher level. I came from the road bike while at an off-road level I have always done motocross, but only for training and fun. I wanted to go fast, just go fast, and I was also crashing very hard, so I calmed down for a moment and started trying to ride better by paying attention to my technique. The goal was to ride better and I found myself being fast without looking for it too much. Slowly now my goal, every time I go out on my bike, is to improve technically rather than be fast. The goal of being fast must be a consequence: and then the race animal will come out.
Follow Marco Melandri on Instagram.
