When is a contract not a contract? Essentially, when all relevant parties haven't signed it. Such simplicity isn’t part of the situation involving Ivan Sosa, Trek-Segafredo and the various individuals who claim to represent the rider. It's a story of rider-agent wars, contract buy-outs, development fees, broken relationships, and at the centre of it is how one of the most talented young riders has become the rope in a tug-of-war that threatens the start of his WorldTour career.
Luca Guercilena paces back and forth across the lobby at the Mapei Centre on a brisk mid-April morning in Castellanza, northwest of Milan. The Trek-Segafredo general manager shouldn't be nervous, after all, he used to work at the elite training venue, so knows each corridor, closet and corner like the back of his hand. But today is special because after months of scouting, introductions and preliminary talks, Ivan Sosa is in town for tests and it's up to Guercilena, as much as it is Sosa, to impress.
The 21-year-old had crashed hard and failed to finish the Tour of the Alps but his third places during the opening two stages, a day as race leader and his previous results stringing back to early 2015, all indicate that the climber is a rare find - Think Egan Bernal but without Team Sky having already signed him. Think Egan Bernal but a year younger. Think Egan Bernal but at a fraction of the cost.
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Finally, Sosa arrives accompanied by Maurizio Fondriest, one of the three people who have helped develop and manage Sosa since he first came to Europe in 2016. Sosa is quiet and polite, and Guercilena can tell from the way the rider watches and listens that he’s taking it all in. They talk in Spanish, the physical and medical tests run smoothly, and even though Sosa is wearing the Androni Giocattoli team kit, Guercilena believes that he is doing enough to win over the climber. They make it as far as talking about potential race programmes for 2019. Guercilena hopes to have signed the next great Colombian climber.
In truth, however, Guercilena didn’t discover this diamond. Paolo Alberati, a known talent-scout and official rider-agent since 2012, did the initial work after a recommendation from Andrea Bianco – an Italian living in Colombia with a background in mountain biking, a UCI race officialdom and a track record that includes discovering Bernal. Alberati played an early role in Bernal’s career development in Europe and hopes to help Sosa follow in Bernal’s path.
Alberati helped bring Sosa to Europe in 2016 after he caught Bianco’s attention with fourth overall and victory on the queen stage of the Vuelta del Porvenir junior stage race. Alberati convinced the Tuscan Maltinti under-23 team to take Sosa for the 2016 season, but the team would only pay basic expenses. As a result, Alberati personally paid for Sosa’s flight to Italy, aged just 19, and it was his first international travel.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/transfer-mechanics-lifting-the-lid-on-the-ivan-sosa-saga
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