10 years after Nibali's crash, Italy has a 3.5-to-1 chance of pulling off a World Championship road race upset
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Follow us on GoogleAt a World Championship where Tadej Pogačar is absent, the conversation revolves almost entirely around five 'big names' who can win the rainbow bands. But one country remains somewhat under the radar. That’s not surprising, since Italy hasn’t been in contention for World Championship gold since Alessandro Ballan won those rainbow bands in 2008. Perhaps the race on September 27 will put cycling-crazy Italy back on the map in Montreal.
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In Italy, the question in recent years has invariably been: Who will succeed Vincenzo Nibali as the stage racer of the future? For a brief moment, it seemed Fabio Aru might follow in his footsteps, but when the climber was forced to retire early due to a physical setback, the position became vacant. Italy saw one time trialist and sprinter after another break through, but a general classification contender and truly great climber was nowhere to be found.
Fallow years for Italy in the Grand Tour stakes
Recent years have been dominated by Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and their teams, UAE Emirates-XRG and Visma | Lease a Bike. Because of this, Italy wasn’t held too strictly accountable for a few lackluster years in the Grand Tours and at the World Championships. Now, however, with Pogačar suddenly out of the picture and Vingegaard also sitting out the World Championships, the Azzurri can suddenly count on at least a 3.5-to-1 chance of winning the world title.
It would be a fitting scenario, a little more than ten years after Vincenzo Nibali was all but certain to win gold at the Rio Olympics before crashing out on a descent. After that, only Matteo Trentin came close to a gold medal, but he finished second at the 2019 World Championships, behind Mads Pedersen. Now, suddenly, there are plenty of riders who are dreaming of those rainbow bands.
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Giulio Ciccone (31) - Lidl-Trek
On paper, Giulio Ciccone is Italy’s team leader, and based on his performance over the past few years, he has earned that status. Throughout his career, the climber was long known as a stage hunter and puncheur competing for podium spots, but in recent years he has developed into a consistent force in stage races and major one-day classics with Lidl-Trek.
Now that Ciccone is being specifically linked to a move to Pinarello-Q36.5, a world title for the ever-eager rider cannot be ruled out. Ciccone won a lot more last year, including the Clásica de San Sebastián, but he’s also been a consistent contender in 2026. After winning the mountains classification at the Giro d’Italia, he set his sights entirely on the World Championships.
He skipped the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España and worked his way into top form via a Spanish race schedule. Although he fell ill during the Tour of Germany, his second-place finish in the GP Québec and seventh-place finish in the GP Montréal showed that he has reason to dream. Just try to shake Ciccone off on those short, punchy climbs. After finishing sixth in Rwanda, he can aim for the highest possible finish at a World Championships without Pogačar.
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Giulio Ciccone will lead the Italian team in Montréal
Giulio Pellizzari (22) - Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
Alongside Ciccone, Giulio Pellizzari was presented by the Italian Cycling Federation as a co-team leader for the World Championships. And there’s certainly a case to be made for that, as the 22-year-old Italian has made the World Championships and the Italian fall season his main goals. After a disappointing Giro d’Italia marred by illness, he finished second in the Tour of Slovenia and won stages in Burgos and Germany.
After winning the Giro della Toscana, Pellizzari retreated to his own familiar surroundings in San Marino, where he completed a few more intense training blocks. Like Ciccone, Pellizzari has shown that, behind Pogačar and Vingegaard, he can actually keep up with the very best on a good day. Consider, for example, his sixth-place finishes in the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España in 2026.
His friend Isaac del Toro has made a bigger impression so far, but with several team leaders in the mix, Pellizzari could be a very dangerous contender if he’s still in the running in the final. He’ll likely be willing to attempt an uphill sprint as well, though the same goes for Ciccone. It’s no coincidence that these two, in particular, are being positioned as leaders in the hunt for a world title.
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Giulio Pellizzari
Davide Piganzoli (24) - Visma | Lease a Bike
For a long time, Davide Piganzoli seemed to be the weakest of the three riders from San Marino, but following the breakthroughs of Del Toro and Pellizzari, Piganzoli’s star has also been rising rapidly since his move to Visma | Lease a Bike in 2026. The 24-year-old climber had always been a strong climber at Polti-VisitMalta, but at the Visma team, he was transformed into a very modern rider in no time.
He made an impression in the Giro d'Italia by finishing eighth himself while riding as a domestique for Vingegaard; in the Tour de France, he rode exceptionally well in the final week; and in between all those Grand Tours, he first won La Route d'Occitanie in June and, more recently, the Tour of Luxembourg. In particular, the way he left everyone in the dust on the climbs in Luxembourg served as a warning to all his World Championship rivals.
On paper, Piganzoli wouldn’t be Italy’s team leader, but with his miraculous legs, he’s certainly emerging as a third contender for a surprise rainbow jersey. It might still be a little too early, but if Luxembourg has shown us anything, it’s that you should never let him get too far ahead. In that regard, Ciccone and Pellizzari serve as excellent distractions.
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Davide Piganzoli
Lorenzo Finn (19) - Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
The reigning world champion in the U23 category could easily have competed in the U23 division, but Lorenzo Finn decided to approach the national team coach with the question: “Can I compete with the elite men?” Roberto Amadio must not have hesitated, because good things happen quickly. And in Finn’s case, very quickly indeed.
In 2026, the very young Italian was still riding for Red Bull’s development team, where he won the Giro NextGen. In races he competed in with the WorldTour team, he already made an impression at events such as the Tour of the Alps. He also finished sixth in the Italian elite time trial championship. That was followed by two stage wins and the overall title at the Sibiu Tour.
After Finn also won the Tour de l'Avenir, thereby adding every major U23 race to his list of achievements, the World Championships came into view. There, he rides in support of his two or three team leaders, but the Italians’ “luxury problem” is perfectly reflected in Finn’s role as a domestique. A sort of “half-leader”? He’s probably still willing to put himself second, perhaps for the very last time...
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Among other achievements, Lorenzo Finn won the Giro NextGen in 2026.
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Is the Giro the race that happens before the Tour? And does winning the mountains jersey mean Carapaz scored the most points on climbs? Which race was everyone’s favourite?bikebuffj05-11-2026
- How did Mathieu van der Poel miss the list? His classics results surely put him in the conversation.sprocketspiny05-11-2026
- McNulty deserves more credit than his ranking suggests. A world title and all that work as a domestique make for a superb season.tourdeforce905-11-2026
- Seixas winning Lombardia at 20 is astonishing. The “next Pogačar” label feels a bit premature, though—let him build his own story before piling on the comparisons.andrewf05-11-2026
- Pogačar’s palmarès is ridiculous, but Van Aert deserves a special mention for Roubaix. Beating Tadej in the velodrome was one of the moments of the season.cyclechamp4505-11-2026
- I’m still learning the calendar: is cyclocross mainly preparation for the spring classics, or does he race it as a separate goal as well? I’d love to see him back in the mud.jeremya04-11-2026
- The article makes it sound as if Roubaix is the only classic where he has a realistic shot. He’s been close in Flanders too, and one good tactical day can change everything.jennifer1904-11-2026
- Milan-Sanremo and Roubaix is a pretty special pair of Monuments. Any clues yet on which cyclocross races he’ll target?andrewf04-11-2026
- He’s right to be realistic about Flanders with Pogačar and Evenepoel around, but you can’t count Van Aert out on those roads. If he gets the right opportunity, he has the engine and experience to take it.davidm04-11-2026
- That Roubaix win felt like such a release after all the near-misses. Brilliant to hear that joy outweighed relief for Wout.patriciaw04-11-2026