Italy's new generation look to restore lost Worlds magic in Montreal

Italy has always had a special relationship with the elite men’s road race at the World Championships, dating back to the inaugural edition at Nürburgring in 1927, when Alfredo Binda led a sweep of the podium ahead of Costante Girardengo and Domenico Piemontesi.

Binda would go on to win a record three rainbow jerseys, and he was the commissario tecnico when Fausto Coppi ended a 21-year Italian drought to claim his indelible world title triumph in Lugano in 1953.

From there, the mystique of the squadra azzurra became one of the defining elements of the modern World Championships. Belgium might have won more rainbow jerseys – 27 to Italy’s 19 – but no country seemed to approach the event with quite the same reverence. 

Given Italy’s depth of talent, the position of ct became a diplomatic post as much as a sporting one, and Alfredo Martini was the best embodiment of the role, navigating the competing ambitions of men like Francesco Moser, Giuseppe Saronni and Moreno Argentin to guide the azzurri to seven rainbow jerseys in 22 years.

Martini’s heir was his fellow Tuscan Franco Ballerini, who carried the tradition into the 21st century, massaging egos and making the hard choices that saw Italy claim a succession of titles through Mario Cipollini, Paolo Bettini and Alessandro Ballan.

It didn’t always go right, of course, and the fall-out from an unsuccessful Worlds campaign would invariably be played out in the pages of BiciSport for the entire winter. By spring, thoughts were already turning to the next Worlds and the composition of the next selection.

But 18 years have passed since Italy last won the elite men’s road race through Ballan in Varese in 2008, and the azzurri have been fading from relevance across that time. No Italian has stood on the podium since Matteo Trentin was outsprinted by Mads Pedersen in Harrogate in 2019, and no Italian has threatened to win the rainbow bands either. 

The nadir arrived in Zurich in 2024, when Giulio Ciccone in 25th led home Italy’s worst showing since World War II. Twelve months ago, Ciccone took a battling sixth, but he was never really in the same race as Tadej Pogačar or, indeed, of medallists Remco Evenepoel and Ben Healy.

But Worlds heritage isn’t shaken off easily. Just like their footballing counterparts, recent results might have been uninspiring, but the maglia azzurra retains its magic all the same. Making the cut for the Worlds remains a seasonal goal for the bulk of the Italian gruppo, and this year’s selection arrived in Canada with a touch more belief than in recent years.

The absence of Pogačar has contributed to that, of course, but so has the recent form of the men in Roberto Amadio’s line-up. Alberto Bettiol reminded us at the Giro d’Italia that he can still summon up a touch of magic when the mood takes him, Ciccone raced to second behind Remco Evenepoel at the GP de Québec, and Davide Piganzoli won the Tour de Luxembourg.

Giulio Pellizzari, meanwhile, eschewed the Vuelta a España to prepare the Worlds, and he was in sparkling form on Italian roads in recent weeks, winning Giro della Toscana, impressing at the Coppa Sabatini and placing second at the Memorial Marco Pantani.

“I’m really motivated, I’ve been talking about this with Roberto Amadio since the start of the season,” Pellizzari told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We’re a great, strong team. We’re approaching things in the right way, and that’s the key to success, in my view. We don’t have a star player in the team, but if we ride as a united team and enjoy ourselves, we’ll be able to hold our own. The podium… it’s not impossible. I reckon it’s well within our reach.”

Pellizzari lined up at the Giro d’Italia in May with designs on ending a different Italian drought and bridging the gap to Vincenzo Nibali’s 2016 victory. His challenge was hindered by illness and tendinitis, but Pellizzari confessed that he had struggled to meet the moment.

“I realised that to perform well, as well as the physical training you need, you have to be at peace with yourself. You mustn’t let yourself be overly influenced by what’s going on around you,” said Pellizzari, who has spent the latter part of the season preparing specifically for one-day racing.

“I’ve focused mainly on explosiveness, with efforts on 4-5-minute climbs to do a bit of a simulation of what might be most useful on Sunday.”

Pellizzari will be joined in the Italian team by another man from the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe stable, Lorenzo Finn. The 19-year-old won the under-23 race in Kigali a year ago and has landed the Giro Next Gen and Tour de l’Avenir this season. Still contracted to the Red Bull development team, he was eligible to defend the title in Montréal, but after winning his first pro race at the Sibiu Tour, Finn elected to ride the elite road race. 

“The idea came to me, first and foremost,” Finn told La Gazzetta. “I spoke to my coach, John Wakefield, about it and asked him what he thought: at the Under-23 World Championships, I would have been obliged to win: any other result would have been seen as a disappointment. Once I got his approval, I spoke to the federation and, well, here we are.”

The favourites for the Worlds are others – Evenepoel, Isaac del Toro, Paul Seixas and Mathieu van der Poel – but Italy will hope their strength in numbers might count for something in a race blown wide open by Pogačar’s absence.

“I hope to feel in good shape, and it would be great to still be in the mix at the finish,” Finn said. “The national team doesn’t have any of the very top favourites, but several riders could play an important role at crucial moments, like Ciccone, Pellizzari and Bettiol. And if that’s the case, then our numerical strength could become our greatest asset.”