After six seasons spent wearing the Bardiani jersey and becoming, from 2020 to today, one of the pillars and most representative profiles of Bruno and Roberto Reverberi's formation, Filippo Fiorelli is awaiting a new adventure rich with novelties and firsts for him.

Starting from next January until 2027, the Palermo-born rider will be a permanent fixture in the World Tour, embracing the cause of what, besides being the first foreign team of his career, is undoubtedly one of the strongest and most winning squads in the global panorama, namely Visma Lease a Bike.

It was the Dutch formation itself that announced the signing of the Sicilian rider last August 26th, a date when the transfer was officialized not only through the classic press release but also, via social media, through a characteristic carousel, created specifically by the team's graphic department, which could not leave fans and insiders indifferent, nor the person directly involved.

"I really liked it. They forwarded it to me the day before they published it, and it was truly beautiful. I knew they would do something particular and different, but I didn't expect anything like this," Fiorelli told us on a morning when he and the entire VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizan are called to give their all to try to snatch one of the last available spots in the annual UCI top 30 ranking, a conditio sine qua non to aim for a wild card for the Grand Tours next year.

Precisely because of the important stakes in these last weeks, Fiorelli prefers not to think about what awaits him in the new year and instead focuses on the final appointments of the season, and therefore on the concluding part of his stint with Bardiani, to leave the Italian team in the best possible way.

"Since I signed, I've set aside the future with Visma and made sure to think about it as little as possible, not only because otherwise it would have been a long wait to reach the end of the year, but also because I want to give my all for Bardiani and try to close 2025 with them in the best way possible. I don't hide that it would be nice to end this season by bringing even more points to the team, because the sporting battle to finish in the top 30 is still ongoing, and perhaps obtaining one last personal achievement with these colors."

However, it was inevitable not to ask him how the possibility of landing in the World Tour and signing a contract with one of the most prominent teams in the entire circus came about.

"I created the opportunity myself along the way in these years, always hoping that some World Tour team would be interested and think of me for their future," Fiorelli told us.

"After the Giro d'Italia, I received a call from my manager, Paolo Alberati, who told me that Visma Lease a Bike, to whom my data and curriculum had been sent shortly before, was interested. They were surprised to learn that Paolo was my agent because initially, they had asked around and couldn't figure out who represented me. Once they learned this information, they immediately got in touch with both of us, and together we started talking about 2026 and 2027."

These initial discussions, which later evolved into the actual negotiation, led to the signing of a contract that will significantly change Fiorelli's life and career. As already specified by Visma Lease a Bike itself, he will have the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the Northern Classics and work in the train of rising star Matthew Brennan, a guy who in this 2025 has earned the spotlight with a series of victories that Fiorelli himself has had the chance to appreciate.

"I've always seen him as a competitor, I've never met him in person, and we've never raced together, but seeing what he's done in races this year, I'd say he's truly a phenomenon because winning 12 races at 20 years old means you really have something special," stated the 30-year-old Palermitan, who will have time and opportunity to get to know Brennan in the coming months after closing, he hopes successfully, his six-year adventure with Bardiani.