As the major races in Italy draw near, Matteo Sobrero feels the tension rise. There is always a strong hope that he will be selected once again. He has already competed in the Giro, Il Lombardia, and Milan-Sanremo three times each. Next weekend’s "La Primavera", however, the longest race of the season, spanning around 300 kilometers, remains something truly special.
Matteo grew up less than 100 kilometres away from the course. “I grew up in Montelupo Albese near Alba in Piedmont”, he says. Barely 500 people live in the municipality. But there are countless vineyards there. “My parents are third-generation winegrowers. My sister and I will be the fourth.”
At 27 years old, Matteo still has his best years as a professional athlete ahead of him, but the path for his life after that is already clear. “When I was still at school, I was already intensively involved with wine. I always said that I had a plan A and a plan B. Plan B was cycling. I always dreamed of becoming a professional, but at the same time I worked my way in at home. Then I swapped the two plans. Now I'm 100 percent dedicated to my career as a professional. But after that, I'll have time to look after the family business.”
Whether it's Dolcetto, Barbera, Barolo, or Pinot Noir, the Sobreros' vineyards are home to a wide variety of grapevines, and Matteo is familiar with them all. His attention to detail is something that also serves him well as a professional cyclist. He explains, “They have a lot in common. You need to be patient. You have to build your season from the winter, both on the road and in the vineyard. It’s not just about the harvest. The same goes for cycling—you need dedication and passion in everything you do, on both fronts. They are really quite similar.”
The love for vineyards is in his blood. But where does the connection to cycling come from? “As a child, when I was looking for my parents, who were working somewhere on the huge vineyard, I was always on my bike”, Matteo remembers the early days. “At some point, my father came to me and said: 'Okay, if you really like the bike, you should ride for a reason and not just for fun'. I decided to enter a local mountain bike race and I won it. Then I joined a small team nearby and had a lot of fun.”
Matteo progressed through all the classes and turned professional with Dimension Data in 2018. He gradually developed into a time trial specialist. In 2021, he became the Italian champion in this discipline, and the following year, he won the final stage of the Giro d'Italia against the clock. “I love speed,” says Matteo, who also has a passion for motorsport, used to be a fan of Valentino Rossi, and would ride his own motorbike through the mountains when he wasn’t using his own power. “I like the freedom, and sometimes when the fitness is feeling good, it’s just the feeling of being in sync with your legs at that moment in time. It’s really something that makes you feel alive.”
And then there is certainly the influence of Filippo Ganna. “We are really good friends,” says Matteo. “We train a lot together, we live close. Also, my girlfriend is his sister, so we are pretty close!”
Photos:
Getty Sport
Max Fries