No guts, no glory!
With a place on the podium secured, his heart split between Italy and the Netherlands, and a true masterclass of making it look easy. The newly crowned European time trial champion Edoardo Affini looks back on those last two weeks in the name of speed.
Published: October 14, 2024
As the numbers tick by with no mercy, the timer counts down every fraction of a second: time trials are a battle between you and the clock. However, you're not alone. Like a video game, you're on the leaderboard, but you're competing against other players. It's not about doing well, it's about doing better.
In an era of marginal gains, Edoardo Affini stands out as a rider who combines the scientific pragmatism of aerodynamics proper of time-trialists with the romantic pursuit of a dream. Five adrenaline-filled hours on the world's most coveted hot seat, believing in his rainbow dream to the end.
Feelings don't lie.
In the space of just two weeks, Edoardo Affini experienced two of the most intense moments of his professional career. First he won the European time trial champion's jersey, followed by a bronze medal at the world championships in Zurich. The secret of his success is a simple approach to an ambitious goal.
"Before the Vuelta, I went to Tignes to prepare for the last part of the season," he explains. "I was racing in Spain until a few days before the European Championships and those three weeks were really intense. The time trial in Madrid didn't go very well. I knew I only had two days to catch my breath and be ready for the time trial in Hasselt the following Wednesday. Despite everything, I had a good feeling, I felt great and everything went as planned. I even went faster than expected."
After setting the fastest time, Edoardo had to deal with the tension of waiting. But when the confirmation of his victory arrived, he was able to melt away his doubts in the arms of the most important people in his life. His parents, his partner and his Dutch family were all in Limburg. A joy with the special flavor of shared moments.
Like home.
The Netherlands is like a second home to Edoardo, and the stories that tie him deeply to this country are many. Some have to do with the heart, others with culture. Then there's the destiny that led him to spend part of his life in the land of water and wind.
"It all started in 2017," he recalls. "I was competing in the under-23 category with the Dutch team Seg Racing Academy, one of the first development teams in that period. I spent two years with them and it gave me the opportunity to follow a different racing calendar. I spent more time abroad, often staying at the team's house, which was like a campus. That's where I got to know a bit of Dutch culture and where I met Lisa, my partner. I spent more and more days in the Netherlands. I turned pro in 2019 with Mitchelton-Scott. My manager was Dutch and I had a thousand reasons to travel between Italy and the Netherlands. When I signed with Visma-Lease a Bike team, I started to become familiar with the language again. It's not easy and I've never taken any courses, but I heard my teammates speak it and I decided to give it a try, also to feel more part of the group."
Last year, he and Lisa seriously started talking about their future and decided to move together in a house just outside Assen - a base for a life always on the move, traveling the world.
"About Holland I like how well organized everything is. Needless to say, it is a paradise for us cyclists. There are endless bike paths, my girlfriend rides her bike to work, and it's common to see parents taking their children to school on cargo bikes, even when it rains. It's a matter of culture, something we are still not used to in Italy."
A dream day.
For everyone who witnessed it, whether in person or on television, the time trial in Zurich was an extraordinary surprise. Even Edoardo himself admits that he was surprised by an unexpected bronze medal. The truth is that there are days when all the sacrifices you've made for cycling come back to haunt you, and the emotions make up for all the efforts you have silently put in.
"Coming from winning the European Championships," he says, "morale was high and I felt confident, even though this was a very different time trial. I knew I could do well and I would have been happy to be in the top five. I wasn't thinking about the podium, but after sitting in the hot seat for so long I started to believe it was possible."
Edoardo also reflected on the honour of sharing the podium with two world-class riders, especially Filippo Ganna, with whom he has shared the pride of wearing the Italian national jersey since 2013.
"Pippo and I have shared a lot," he explains. "It was special to stand on the world podium with him. It's emotional to think that we've been sharing the same room since the 2013 world championships in Florence. We were juniors then, both wearing the ‘Maglia Azzurra’ for the first time. And now, after so many years, we're still here, competing side by side for Italy. To be honest, Remco did an amazing time trial and he's an exceptional champion, but - without taking anything away from his talent - I would have loved to see Ganna in the rainbow jersey. It would have been the perfect end to an unforgettable day."
Two different races.
Just a few days apart, Edoardo faced two very different courses, each requiring a distinct strategy, as he explains:
"The course in Hasselt was basically flat, with a few turns that didn't require much strategy. It was all about maintaining a constant power and, at most, managing the wind. The World Championships course in Zurich, on the other hand, was about 15km longer and had a climb that required careful energy management. For me, it was crucial to keep enough energy to tackle the middle section with its various elevation changes, and then use my last reserves to give everything I had in the last 12 flat kilometres. It definitely wasn't a course to my strengths, but that was the plan and I managed to execute it well."
Light as a feather.
When Edoardo Affini talks about his first ride in Nimbl shoes, the first word that comes to mind is comfort.
"It was a game changer," he says. "I have always struggled with pain in my feet, especially on hot days. I could never find the right solution. The feeling I had when I put on a pair of Nimbl shoes was really one of incredible comfort, especially in this sensitive area. The carbon shell of the shoe is a big plus as it immediately feels like it is molded to the shape of your foot."
During the world time trial championships, Affini used a pair of Nimbl Expect, the custom-made, full carbon shoes created for him by the brand's tech team.
"I love the fact that you can completely customize a shoe," he adds. "In this case, the sole was molded directly from my foot. The advantage is that my feet stay in closer contact with the pedals and produce optimal power transfer. Lightness is another key factor. The Nimbl shoes, are really like a feather; I think the cleat weighs more in comparison. Taking off a few grams and streamlining the shape of the shoe benefits aerodynamics with performance gaining. These are small but fundamental differences that lead, in many cases, to achieve great results."