The first races of the season have arrived, Europe is about to wear its traditional clothes as the reference continent for the world of two wheels, and therefore there couldn't be a better moment to discover the new forces of Italian cycling. We propose a multi-stage journey to discover the new faces of our movement: we will talk about neoprofessionals, riders who have landed in the Devo teams of major squads, Italian Continental teams, and our guys racing around the world. Are you ready? Let's start and... pedal with us!

FIRST EPISODE - THE NEOPROFESSIONALS

It's a sign of the times, the new way of understanding cycling: according to the canonical definition, the Italian movement applauds the arrival of 17 riders among professionals. A number that sits midway between the 23 of 2023 and the 13 of 2024.

But it's a number to be read, interpreted, enriched with data and reflections that help to better focus the picture of our cycling.
And so we discover that at least four of the new professionals have already raced - and quite a lot - in the top category in 2024, having been part of the Devo teams of major formations.

Or we can easily highlight that all four neoprofs of the VF Group Bardiani CSF Faizané come from the juniors category and in this 2025 we will see them tackling the most important international races of the Under 23 category, starting with the Giro d'Italia Next Gen.

And the third point to reflect on is that this season there will be 22 (at the moment) Italian riders engaged in the Devo teams of professional teams: some in their third season, some in their second, some at their debut.

So, let's add up: 17 neoprofessionals and 22 guys in Devo Teams are the image of an Italian cycling that is indeed searching for the absolute champion but continues to express itself at a high level and produce young valuable riders, prospects on which the major teams continue to invest.

The discourse is simple: Devo formations have become a true reservoir with a dual function. An immediate one, because it allows picking riders during the season who can support the main team - for all, we cite the case of XdS Astana Team that "demoted" Marukhin, Syritsa and Umba to the Devo formation to make room for other athletes, effectively expanding the roster which on paper is limited to 30 riders - and a perspective one, with the possibility of growing young talents and understanding what their future might be.

A MATTER OF AGE. We begin our journey among the neoprofessionals with the four athletes chosen by VF Group Bardiani CSF Faizané: Filippo Cettolin, Santiago Ferraro, Andrea Montagner and Mattia Stenico. Among them, Ferraro won four races in 2024 including the Gp Liberazione in Rome and the Gp Loria International, Cettolin signed the Giro Primavera, Montagner is the most victorious with eight wins including two stages of the LVM Saarland Nations Cup and the Giro della Valdera, while Stenico won the Piccola Tre Valli Varesine, becoming European champion (and world bronze) in the mountain bike relay. All four will join the Youth Project that team Reverberi has entrusted to Mirko Rossato and which has already begun to bear its first fruits.

In contrast, the oldest neoprofessionals are Sergio Meris (class 2001) and Tommaso Nencini (class 2000, the "oldest"): the first, who also won the tuttoBICI 2024 Oscar in his category, arrives at the top category with four prestigious victories - Giro del Medio Brenta, Firenze-Viareggio and two stages of the Giro del Veneto - landing at Unibet Tietema Rockets, while the second from Zalf Désirée Euromobil Fior will move to Team Solution Tech - Vini Fantini with two victories to his credit.

DEVO POWER. Serving in Devo formations means, besides gaining experience in major teams, also having the opportunity to make the leap to the top category, and this year six have achieved the goal. The bergamasque Giosuè Epis joins Arkea B&B Hotels, Andrea Raccagni Noviero (Under 23 time trial Italian champion and 3rd at the Gand-Wevelgem category) moves to Soudal Quick Step, Alessandro Romele (winner of two stages at the Tour of Rhodes and second in the final classification of the 2.1 category Istanbul Tour) and Davide Toneatti, winner of a stage at Beograd BanjaLuka and well placed in the top ten of the final classifications of the Tour of Rhodes and Giro del Friuli Venezia Giulia, are promoted from XdS Astana Team.

Then there's Gabriele Raccagni of Team Polti Visit Malta while completing the group is Jacopo Colladon who makes the category jump in the ranks of Novo Nordisk, going to enrich the large group of Italians in the American team that lines up only riders affected by type 1 diabetes.

L'AVENIR. Two of the new professionals have left a mark in the most important stage races of the year: Ludovico Crescioli won the second stage of the Tour de l'Avenir and finished third in the Giro della Valle d'Aosta while Florian Samuel Kajamini won the fifth stage of the French race, finishing fifth overall, placed seventh at Giro Next Gen and conquered two internationals like San Vendemiano and the Giro della Provincia di Biella.

WHO GOES FAST AND WHO DOESN'T. Among the neoprofessionals, the fastest rider title goes to Daniel Skerl, international winner of the Popolarissima di Treviso and a stage of the Ronde de l'Oise, but there are those who arrive at the top category without having obtained prestigious results. This is the case of Andrea Piras and Luca Verrando, both called to defend the colors of Team Solution Tech - Vini Fantini.

1 - to be continued