Fernando Alonso shelved his plans to set up a professional cycling team during the souring of relations with Ferrari and amid the turmoil of his switch from the Maranello team to McLaren. That is the claim of Paolo Bettini, a former cyclist who left his job as head coach of Italy’s national team in order to help Alonso set up a team for cycling’s top World Tour. But during the course of last year, it became clear Alonso’s plans were fading and eventually the Spaniard met with Bettini to apologise. “We sat down in December,” Bettini told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “It was a frank meeting, we looked each other in the eye and he apologised.” That is because Bettini, currently without a job, gambled everything on Alonso’s dream, which for now has been put on the shelf. “If he needs help again and calls me then we can see if I’m still free and if we can find the right agreement. Would I be wary? Inevitably, yes,” he admitted. Bettini said the main problem for Alonso’s cycling plans was the timing, as turmoil began to build at Ferrari last year and his negotiations for a return to McLaren intensified. “It all started in the wrong year for Fernando,” he explained. “His job is a formula one driver, so then the changes in Ferrari that everyone is now aware of began and he began to try to change teams.” “It was a crucial year for his career and he had to focus on that,” Bettini said. “There was no room for another challenging project, fascinating as it was.”
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 08:28:03 +0000
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