Matteo Tosatto failed to reach an agreement with Trek-Segafredo for the 2017 season and the Italian veteran may be forced to end his career.
“I’m in talks with two WorldTour teams but at the moment there is nothing concrete,” he told Tuttobiciweb. “I could accept it under certain conditions but now it is hard. In these years I have proved my worth and my professionalism. I wait for a response without being obsessed. I know for a fact that the team managers of these teams want me but in today’s cycling that does not count. The managers have to make a decision but they are struggling to make ends meet in their budget.
This year Matteo Tosatto celebrated his 20th anniversary as a professional cycling but the 42-year-old Italian still has the legs and head to do another season.
“I wanted to end my career differently. I could have stopped after the Tour de France. I was persuaded to do another year alongside Alberto, but in the end nothing came out of the talks with Trek. I really do not know why. I had the illusion of being able to ride another year at the top but we are now in November and there are only a few spots available. That said I am serene. If I can race again, I will be happy, otherwise I will be happy too and I’ll think about my future calmly.
“I have already started to prepare myself to stay in the environment. I am attending the courses to become sports director and I received some proposals to remain in cycling in other roles. For 2017, if it does not work out with the negotiations, I would like to help some teams at major events, without taking hasty decisions. I still have too many questions to decide what to do in the short term. For 2018, however, I’d like to be part of a more concrete project on a full-time basis. I think about being part of an important team or working with young people to make use of the experience I have accumulated over the past 20 years.”
