Mountain biking’s my passion; I’ve always got so much out of it. I started out for fun when I was a kid, and it gradually became pretty much my job.
I’ve been pedaling away for years and years. First on the road and then off road, and then there came a point in my career when I opted for cross-country.
I use a classic mountain bike, you go round the circuits of about 5 kilometers, racing for an hour and a half, with a mass start, everyone together.
You’ve got to have the staying power to hang in there, the technique to climb and get back down from tough spots like stony ground;
in some races it gets really muddy or dusty, and all of them are very technical.
Mentally, Marco’s very strong, for sure. He’s a born winner, and that doesn’t necessarily mean he wins every time.
But when he loses, he always manages to see the positive side,
and to find the motivation to improve, to make up for the mistakes he’s made.
When he gets to the starting line he knows where he can win, where the difference can be made – and he also manages to avoid dwelling on his weaknesses, which is definitely important in a race.
Marco didn’t chalk up great results in the youth categories. When he was younger he was always the one who had to catch up,
the one who was physically smaller than the others. So it’s fair to say that today’s results,
today’s wins have as much to do with having learnt to lose as the will to win. That’s what’s given him the ability to make sacrifices,
to keep training and improving, never letting the difficulties get him down and aspiring to the best year after year.
I want to win, I want that top spot on the podium, and that’s what spurs me on every day to give my all, and to live the right sort of life,
the sort you need to come first. For a few years we’ll be racing on top of the world and trying to pull it off in the greatest races that exist.