Frank Bettini has been part of Enough Cycling since the beginning. After one year getting back to the pleasure of just riding his bike, he now wants to go back to racing as well. He has indeed a road racing background and he definitely knows what a competitive event looks like. Let’s hear what Unbound meant and means to him and how he’s getting ready.
Well, Unbound… It’s a big one for me! But let’s take a step back before getting to it. When the guys asked me to join Enough I was not cycling at all. I had enough of it after years of racing and making sacrifices. One year without even touching a bike. The result? A very long break from “rules”. I was 100kg, when my ideal weight is 70kg.
After sucking this surprise up I just said yes to Mattia, Federico and Jacopo. I don’t know what they saw in me, but I’m glad they did! Last year was all about experiencing a new way to ride a bike which I didn’t know and falling in love with a bike again. And I did. Step by step I did many new experiences like Tuscany Trail and Jeroboam. Something I never imagined before. This year I even did my first adventure race at Granguanche in the Canary Islands – I just love riding my bike in a way I never did before.
There’s one thing though: when you’ve been racing you know how it feels to be competitive and to feel strong. You want to get it back too! That’s why little by little I started training a bit more, I wanted to get back into a decent shape to enjoy every ride without much struggle. By the end of last year – without much focus on it – I lost about 20kg and I started thinking I could do better.
I needed an objective, an event to train for. And that’s when Mattia said Unbound was the perfect goal. I checked and it definitely was it. I started making a plan starting from winter to build up a good form and be prepared. It’s a hard race for sure but I don’t care much about the final outcome. It’s already been something big for me – it’s been that one thing that challenged me and pushed me to be better.
It’s not an obsession for sure, but I can’t wait to be there, see how the level is over there and how I compare. I also can’t wait to go on the next big trip with the other guys because it’s always fun: it’s gonna be something we will never forget!
See you in Emporia!
credits Chiara Redaschi / Sami Sauri
