Cyclingheroes: You must be very happy with the end of the 2007
season....[Peter Veilts won the 2007 U23 Road Race at the UCI World Championships]
Peter Velits: It was a great season.
It was the best season so far. I am very happy, at the World Championships... it was amazing.
Cyclingheroes: Is there a big difference
between your former team, Pro-Continental team Wiesenhof or a Pro-Tour team like Milram?
Peter Velits: Yes, In my opinion its
a very big difference. This team [Milram] is much bigger. Its like a small factory. So many people. At Wiesenhof it was like
a big family. We were all friends. Yes its very different.
Cyclingheroes: You are a young rider.
How does it feel to start your career after all the problems in cycling in the last couple of years?
Peter Velits: What can I say? A lot
has happened and there are a lot of changes, like for instance the biological passport. Of course its necessary. I will do
the things that were decided to fight against doping. There is no question about that. Sometimes its difficult to fill out
the 'where abouts' papers three months in advance.But we must do it and of course I will do it.
Cyclingheroes: Do you already know
your race programme for 2008?
Peter Velits: We have a schedule until
the end of April. My season will start with five one-day races in South-Africa. The first will be at the 2nd of
February. These are relatively small races. After that I will go to Italy and will do the Giro di Sardegna. After Italy I
will race Paris-Nice and other stage races. We will race many stage races because we have two great sprinters in our team
[Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel, editor]. My highlights will be Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Cyclingheroes: Can you tell us something
about cycling in your home country [Slovakia]?
Peter Velits: We have a few continental
teams in Slovakia. Cycling is not very big in my home country, like for instance football or icehockey. But after my world
title people start to follow cycling. I think that's really good for young kids. They know now they can do it as well. They
know its possible for somebody from Slovakia to become world champion. I think cycling starts to grow now. Cycling was very
small.
