Name
Luciano Rota

Country
Italy

Other Sports
Cycling

Is there something you'd like to tell us?
Sport has always been an important part of my life, but my relationship with it has changed over time. After many years of competitive cycling, I went through a period in which I felt stressed and disconnected from the sport I had dedicated so much energy to. Discovering running again, after it was just a fun activity as a kid, this time in a simple, spontaneous way with friends, helped me rediscover the joy of movement and competition. What I love most about running is the sense of freedom, the connection with nature, and the friendships that grow naturally within the running community. It made me feel that I had found my place again.

What's your job?
I am a PhD candidate in statistics. My research focuses on Bayesian statistics, functional data analysis, and spatiotemporal statistics. I work on developing statistical methods to better model and understand complex data that evolve over space and time.

Favoutite Quote
“L’impressione più viva l’è che me brusa tant el cù” (“The strongest impression is that my backside burns a lot”), an expresion attributed to Luigi Ganna, a winner of the Giro d'Italia in the early 1900. The story behind this quote is wonderful. Ganna was a bricklayer from the Varese area who used to ride long distances every day for work, going back and forth between his home and Milan. In a way, it was accidental training. I find this detail quite relatable myself, since I also spend many kilometers commuting by bike between home and the university. Almost by chance, he decided to participate in the Giro d’Italia, and he ended up winning it. At that time the race was absolutely brutal: incredibly long stages, exhausting and relentless, something that today might resemble ultra-trail running, but repeated day after day for weeks. When he finally won, a journalist asked him how the race had gone and what his strongest impression was. His answer was simple, direct, and unforgettable: “The strongest impression is that my backside burns a lot.” To me, this reflects a totally humble and dedicate way to live sport. This is the maximal inspiration to me