Welcome on my blog with this 1st episode “why I’m here now”

(Benvenuto sul mio blog questo è il primo episodio “perché sono qui ora” ⭢ leggi qui in italiano)

Hi everyone, welcome on my blog (I’ve not the name yet).
I was thinking from a long time to open my own blog and I’ve finally decided myself to do it.
But first let me introduce myself shortly.

I’m Francesca Selva a freelance pro cyclist from Venice, Italy, actually I’m born in Venice and my ID card says that I live in Marcon but I’m never there. I’m based mostly around the world.

Where I should start? 
Maybe you are wondering why I’ve called myself a “freelance pro cyclist“, you have never heard that before? Maybe I’ve coined the new position. The answer for that it’s simple, I define myself (and people do it) a pro cyclist because I ride for an UCI team racing against the best riders of the world, but I don’t have a salary as a athlete, I need to work as a normal person to finance myself.

But I’m at this point because there’s a long (and not ordinary) story behind. If you are intrested to know what bring me here, at this point when at 24y I’ve finally decided to not work anymore to try to achieve my big dream of being a real athlete.. just keep reading..

I was an hyperactive kid, and I had the winning blood from my day zero. My life is just about challenges and compete against the others but mostly against myself.
I’ve started my cycling career when I was 7yo because of Bruno, my first coach that’s also now one of my biggest fan and supporter.
He taught me almost everything about being “one thing” with my bike, and I’ve learned how to ask always more from myself, accepting defeats, but always with the win in my mind (at that time against the boys too).

After the “giovanissimi” category (7 to 12yo) where I was a skier, a swimmer, and so much more I’ve year by year stopped all the other sports keeping just the cycling. I don’t think I’ve decided to be a cyclist, cycling chosen me.
Nobody in my family is a cyclist, just my brother (the reason why I met Bruno) but he was not a real fan of trainings and efforts, he was the most of the time one of the riders of the bunch, nothing else. He stopped after the junior category after just 5y involved in cycling races.
Bet him was always one of the thing to reach on my mind, try to do it better, and now (sorry Fufi) I definitely can say that I made it. But I think he is really proud of me and that’s the biggest achievement for me.

I was a winner in every sport and in cycling I did very well in the young category until the U15 when I’ve started to suffer of knees pain. I’ve spent 2 years out of the racing and training doing a lot of injections, physiotherapy..ecc without knew really what’s was going wrong.
I made it to the point that “you need to convive with that” and I was almost ok with that, a bit of suffer to be back to ride my bike was something I was ready to pay for. In 2013 I’ve been for the first stime in a track where I met the reason why I love track cycling now, Andrea and Erik. Velodromo Mecchia of Portogruaro still now one of my favorite places in the world.

I’ve restarted with the cyclocross season of 1st year at junior category without any hope to find a team for the incoming road season, but on my comeback I did not bad and I managed to get in a Junior team. My career was finally restarting again!

In the 1st year as junior I suffered a lot because after 2years out of racing was really hard to get back in the right shape and gives to my legs enough power to fight, and without talking about my heart!
To make everything harder I’ve start to suffer of eating disorder because in my mind getting skinner was equal to getting stronger.
You know what? that’s totally not true. I was going worst and worst, I was 50kg (15kg less than now) using the bike to get fitter, food started to be my biggest enemy and was an awful year.. without talking about what happened in the laters years to my mind. Now I’m finally enjoying my life and my relationship with the food (also thank to Roberta my nutritionist), it takes long time but that’s life.

2nd year junior I was fighting with myself I’ve decided to stopped my career a couple of times and I did it for some months, but at the end I had just one thing on my mind “you can’t leave this world as a loser, as nobody, at last you need to win a race and after that you can stop”.

That was, I’ve started the 3rd year as junior saying to my father “I don’t mind if it will be march of September, the first race I’m gonna win the day after I will not be anymore a cyclist”.
Was the best season lately (I was not having a top10 placement since the U15 category) I was in the top5 every sprint races and I’ve ended the season with a 2nd place in the home race behind Martina Fidanza and I was 2nd in keirin nationals.
After the race as planned I gave back everything to the team ready to say goodbye at the cycling world because at that point people knew again I was fighting for wins. That’s was a huge achievement for me.

The point was I was not having fun anymore on the road, and all the stress around it. I was still loving ride my bike tho. And ofc my blood was the same of the day zero, I was needing to find something that was really challenging me, where I could have fun and fight to win in the meantime.

Track cycling. That was my answer. I made the decision to go all in in the side of cycling I was loving at most: riding in circle.

2019 first year as track cyclist: I broke my left collarbone at the first UCI race of the season, surgery, 6months out, 2nd surgery, back to racing late in June. I had some good podiums, a lot of experiences, and some winning in fixed races. Not the best start of my new chapter.

2020 started better, my first 6days in January but right after the covid, and you all know what was about. Another stop for 3 months + 1 bonus for me because of my knees were not happy of the 3 months spent at home. Decent finish of the season including my first national championship win but after that: lockdown again when the winter season was starting.
No races again for more than a couple of months.
I was already studying at the university but I had to start to work too because without racing I had no money entrance at all.

2021 season started later in the year because the lockdown but I was getting better and better arriving at my best peak ever in November, I was the only one able to follow the world champion Katy Archibald, I was finally feeling so good, that’s why I broke my right collarbone. But this time I knew what was my level and I was so fucking ready to work to get back there.
2 months out of training and some more out of racing.

2022 back to the races in march with just one question on my mind ” I will be able to train for more than 6months in a row this time or it will be the same as the last 7years, what will stop me this time?”.
The season was going pretty well I got my first UCI wins, second national fixed title, and you know what? I’ve been selected for the first time in my career (at 23yo) from the national team to do the World Cup in Cali. That’s like how the fabula goes. I got a silver medal with Letizia Paternoster (one of my best friends) in my first time ever with the national jersey! What else?! That was unbelievable.
In the meantime during the season I met Amalie and we decided together to be full time Madison partner. I couldn’t have made a better decision, now she is like a sister to me.

A key point of the year happened in October when I met Alberto Contador. He gives me the confidence to quit the job to focus myself on the cycling part.
“Querer es poder” (If you want you can do it) it’s his motto and from that day I keep this sentence on my mind.
The day after I met him I’ve decided to copy his tattoo to remember to myself that nobody can stop me, just I can.

2023 after the Winther spent on training camps with the national team (Yeah nothing had stopped me(yet)) I was ready to represent again the nation at the World Cup.
All the dreams to have finally the chances to have a proper season of trainings and races stopped in march because some problem with my previous team.
Without any hopes to come back to my life shortly I’ve restarted to work.
At the end that cost me 3 months without racing and trainings too because I was having a mental breakdown so I was not able to do nothing.
Since this period is ended I got the most incredible times so far, and now I can say to you that I quit my jobs and I will go 110% in to the cyclist life.. because I’ve an huge announcement to do but I can’t do it yet!

That’s just a little recap of the reason why I have not an ordinary athlete background.
Keep reading if you are curios to know how this story will ends…