"I started this new season well because the end of last year's season went well. Last year was not an easy year, but it doesn't always go our way and we are not machines," Bastianelli said last week from a training camp in Altea, Spain.
Bastianelli proved just how well prepared she is for the season by winning her first race in her new colors for UAE Team ADQ. the 34-year-old has won several prestigious races this season, including Gent Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen, and Ronde van Drenthe. She has won such prestigious races as Gent-Wevelgem, Ronde van Vlaanderen, and Ronde van Drenthe, and will continue to focus on these races this season.
"Certainly, as always, the Classics of the North," and "I will appreciate some good stages for me in the Tour de France and the Giro Rosa," she thinks next year.
Many of Bastianelli's past victories came during her long stint with Allee Cipollini (later renamed Allee BTC Ljubljana, now renamed UAE Team ADQ). Aside from the year she spent with Team Virtue Cycling, she has been an integral part of the team's setup since 2016, and while a new sponsor graced the team jersey this season, the core of the team has not changed.
"Not much has changed," Bastianelli said.
"It's always the same group of guys, and some of the guys I enjoy being with, so it's like a second family."
The bonds forged within the team were evident at the Vuelta CV Feminas when Bastianelli crossed the finish line with her arms raised high and her teammates Anna Trevisi and Maaike Boogaard mimicked her winning pose.
As one of the most experienced members of a team with several younger players, Bastianelli's influence on his teammates seems to extend somewhat beyond the road.
"I like to advise them, but I also like it when they ask me to 'help' them. I don't want to be too heavy-handed like 'the old teacher,' so I always do half-and-half."
Even as Bastianelli is entering the final act of her career, she is still the most prolific sprinter in the women's peloton because she has produced the most sprinters.
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