Departing Battistella noticed unpleasant attitude at Astana: "Like I was unreliable"

Samuele Battistella is leaving Astana Qazaqstan after four seasons and will spend the next two years riding for EF Education-EasyPost. Although the Italian enjoyed racing in the Kazakh team's blue jersey in recent years, he feels less happy about his last season with the team.

Battistella made the decision early in the season to leave Astana after 2024. "In April, I had already signed,' the Italian said in a conversation with Bici.PRO. At Jonathan Vaughters' team, Battistella will be given his freedom. 'I am grateful that the team approached me for an important role in the team. They wanted a rider like me and would give me space."

Although Battistella looks back on his time at Astana with a good feeling, the relationship did cool down after the team knew he was leaving. "When we talked, I didn't hide that I had already signed with a new team. I wanted to be honest with them. I remained professional until the end. Even when I broke my collarbone at the end of the season, I didn't stand aside. On the contrary, I worked hard to recover. On the other hand, I don't feel that the team treated me the same way," some frustration sounds.

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Battistella: "After that, I would have returned in good shape"

"I felt the team no longer cared about having me as a rider. The relationship had changed," Battistella explained his statement. Given his choice to leave, he can understand that, but something else is at play. "I can understand, but the exclusion a week or so before the Tour de France hurt me. Based on the doctor's advice, I got sick on the Tour of Switzerland and didn't ride the last stage. However, I saw an attitude from the team that I didn't like, as if I was unreliable because I am often sick of their words."

Possibly, his departure played a role in Astana Qazaqstan's decision to leave Battistella at home for the Tour de France. After all, it is common for teams to keep riders about to go out of their selections for the grand tours. "It could be,' Battistella said. 'In any case, I didn't feel as helped and involved as before. In December, I wasn't going to do the Tour, but I was going to do it given the performance in the spring, and so in the end, I didn't because of fever on the Tour of Switzerland."

Either way, Battistella is left with an unpleasant feeling about missing his Tour debut. After all, the former world champion in the U23 had put a lot of work into the preparation. "We will never know how it would have gone. Maybe I would have had more trouble the first week, but after that, I would have returned to my level also because I had worked so hard. I was with the team in the Sierra Nevada for 23 days. I had never been in the mountains for so many days. All the work was lost because there are no races in July." Nevertheless, Battistella does not see all the effort as wasted. "I think all the hard work of one season is worth its weight in gold for the next," he looks ahead positively to 2025.

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