Last Saturday the DH rainbow jerseys were assigned: and in the Elite race, Davide Palazzari finished with an excellent 15th place (also noteworthy is the 14th place of Loris Revelli, that we heard after the race). We caught up with Davide to hear some impressions of him after the Fort William race.
1) Hi Davide and congratulations for the excellent 15th place in the world championship: are you satisfied with the result or did you make some mistakes in the run?
Very satisfied, given that the perfect run does not exist. I did have some problems: one minute before the start, while I was adjusting my goggles, I broke the roll off and in an emergency I had to set off with dry goggles in the rain that was pounding quite hard. Luckily I was able to see all the way to the end but certainly not too well, and also with the wet brakes I did some long braking at the top. Even more so the fact that I still managed to put together a good run was a great satisfaction. Being two Italians then both in the top 15 at a World Cup was fantastic, it hadn't happened in the elite for a long time (if it ever happened).
Editor's note: In recent times, 2 Italians in the top 15 has never happened. But if we go back in time, thanks to FANTAmtb, let's see that ai 1993 DH world championships, 3 Italians placed in the top 10 (Caramellino, Zanchi, Herin). Also in 1998, at the DH world championships in Mont Sainte Anne, 6th place for Corrado Herin and 9th place for Gianluca Bonanomi.
2) Did the track deteriorate a lot during the race? What conditions did you find? Because, apart from Williamson and Suarez, we have seen (surprisingly) many athletes with low numbers doing well despite the continuous rain.
Actually I don't think so. The Fort William track is designed to be used in these conditions due to Scotland's climate so, ironically, the whole first part of the track is faster when it rains than when it is dry also because it is mainly made up of stabilized gravel. Just the stretch in the woods got a bit more treacherous but still nothing like the other runs when they get wet at that point. The demonstration of the speed of the track in those conditions is the fact that Charlie set a time just one second slower than Loic's best time in qualifying with the track in perfect conditions.
3) Charlie Hatton had the race of his life: what influences the most in a run of this type? Only Fortune?
Luck for nothing! At the World Championships all the riders have a slightly different approach than at the World Cup, there is nothing to lose and everything to win. Having said that Charlie was certainly among the favorites from my point of view, last year again in Fort William he had won qualifying then made a mistake in the race, so in my opinion he thought "I go very fast on this track, conditions pay for those who risk, I have nothing to lose and I'm with the United Kingdom jersey in the United Kingdom” and had a “perfect” run. As soon as I saw that time I immediately doubted they could beat it. Charlie is a rider who has never won but has always been close and a lot of people don't realize how many riders in the top 15 actually have the potential to win races but for some reason always come up short. I'm sure that with this injection of confidence he will reconfirm himself soon.
4) Back to Leogang where you conquered an extraordinary 1st place in qualifying: in the final how much did the mental aspect influence the fall? Or was the mistake pure fatality/bad luck?
Yes, it must be said that first place was a bit misleading as I also wrote in my post-race report. I had done a good run in qualifying in difficult conditions, but it certainly wouldn't have been first place, maybe Top20 (which would have been fine for me anyway). But in any case that weekend I felt good and I felt that I could prove that I was close to the leaders so I decided to try and take advantage of the opportunity to prove something to myself. Contrary to what everyone thinks, I was very relaxed and set out with the idea of not pushing less than 101% at any point. Serious mistake because the first pass required a lot of precision: the bike, due to the entry speed, reacted in an unexpected way and the wind was blowing strongly. I went too far to miss the channel by a few centimetres... the rest is history ahahahahah. What a shame though.
5) Between now and the end of the year, what can we expect from Davide Palazzari? Goals?
Oh God you have to… You definitely have to expect me to give my all as I do at all races. I certainly feel fit and have good confidence in the last few weeks, so I aim for the races with the idea of doing well but I can't control the result. I'd like to start being in finals regularly to begin with (it's something a lot of people take for granted but you have no idea at my current level how difficult it is: a small mistake sometimes is enough to stay out) after which I would aim to get close to the first and try to understand if I can make that leap in quality.
Thanks to Davide Palazzari for the time dedicated to us and good luck for the continuation of the season! If you want to read more news about Davide, click on this link.
