Retiring Salvatore Puccio belongs to another era: 'Cycling today is faster, riskier and harder than ever'

“It’s dangerous and exhausting,” Puccio said in an interview with tuttobiciweb.it. “Hardly anyone brakes anymore. If you slow down, you lose forty positions instantly. Crashes on TV are only one percent of what really happens. The chaos we used to feel only in the final now starts from kilometre zero. Recently I hit 84 km/h on a descent and got scared. Unfortunately, it’s becoming normal.”

Data backs up Puccio’s words. The 2025 WorldTour season set a new benchmark for speed, averaging 42.874 km/h and marking a six percent increase compared with just five years ago.

For Puccio, the shift goes beyond speed. “The level is so high now. Last winter I trained three times a day: gym, bike, turbo. Nutrition has changed completely. We used to ride five hours after an omelette and nothing else. Now you go out with your pockets full of gels and take in 120 grams of carbs per hour. It’s another world.”

The Sicilian turned professional in 2011 and never left Team Sky, later Ineos Grenadiers. “I’ve always worn the same jersey because I felt good in this group. I like stability and calm, not change. The only different jersey I ever wore was the national team’s, and with Elia Viviani we even won the 2019 European Championship.”

He looks back without regrets. “I have so many memories. Wearing the pink jersey at my first Giro in 2013 was a beautiful surprise. And every time a teammate won, I felt it was my victory too. As a domestique, your work only has value if your leader finishes it off.”

Even without wins of his own, Puccio’s contribution was constant. “I often led the team in race days per year, starting in January and finishing in October. That was the old school mentality. When I made a break, it was usually against guys like Alessandro De Marchi or Steve Cummings, not easy rivals.”

Injuries were rare until this final season, when a broken wrist ruled him out of the Giro. “I wanted to ride it one last time, but it wasn’t meant to be. So I asked to finish my career in Italy, Emilia, Tre Valli, Lombardia. My friends are already planning a nice farewell.”

After so many years in service of others, he now looks forward to a different kind of role. “I’ve signed up for the UCI course to become a sports director. I’d like to stay in the sport, maybe in a team car. I’ll take inspiration from Matteo Tosatto, full of energy and charisma, and from Dario David Cioni, who was calm and steady. Maybe I can be somewhere in between.”

At home in Assisi with his wife Francesca and their young son, Puccio now finds peace in simple things. “I’ve discovered gardening. My father-in-law passed it on, and now I’m obsessed with keeping every plant alive.”

He smiles when asked if he’d do it all again. “Absolutely. I’m proud of my career. I gave everything, and I’d do it from the start once more.”