As preparation for the upcoming biathlon season gathers pace, Italian ski hunter Tommaso Giacomel takes a look at another sporting event. At the cycling highlight Giro d’Italia, the 26-year-old took the opportunity to send a humorous video message to a previous competitor.
Last Friday, Tommaso Giacomel had to think of Emilien Jacquelin in the Dolomites. Invited by the Giro’s social media channels to comment on stage 19, the Italian sent a video message to his French rival and friend, who was missing due to a recent collarbone injury.
“I was hoping to see you here at the Giro,” Giacomel joked, adding: “I don’t know if we’ll meet again in the snow next season or if I have to come to the Tour de France to cheer you on.”
Background: In the spring, two-time world champion Jacquelin decided to take a temporary break from biathlon to try his hand at cycling as part of Decathlon-CMA CGM’s “NewGen” initiative. The program is designed to last six months; what happens after that remains unclear.
Jacquelin suffered a setback at the beginning of May when he broke his collarbone in a bike fall. The 30-year-old then had to go under the knife and has been condemned to watch ever since.
Biathlon stars with great enthusiasm for cycling
Giacomel’s message for Jacquelin is no coincidence: during the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Frenchman thrilled Italian fans with his open admiration for Marco Pantani. There was great praise from all sides.
Giacomel also has a close relationship with cycling. When asked which riders he would most like to go on a ride with, he recently named Luca Vergallito, who competed in his first Giro this year for the Alpecin-Premier Tech team. Another candidate would be his close friend Marco Frigo.
