Between road races and track events, Davide Stella's first season among the Under 23s will ultimately span a total of eleven months. The nineteen-year-old from Fiumicello (Udine), who began his competitive commitments on January 19th in the United Arab Emirates at the Al Salam Championship, will conclude his 2025 cycling year with the Six Days of Ghent scheduled from November 18th to 23rd at the famous t'Kuipke, a location where the young UAE Team Emirates Gen Z rider can finally archive a year that has not lacked satisfaction and significant experiences.

In just a few months, the Gottardo Giochi Caneva product has secured his first successes in the category (a stage at the Tour of Sharjah and one at the Volta ao Alentejo), made his first appearances with the World Tour formation and made his debut in an elite World Championship, the track event in Santiago, Chile, after which, without pause, he flew directly to Asia to participate in the Singapore and Saitama Tour de France Criteriums.

"I admit it was a bit exhausting traveling directly from Chile to Singapore, but I'm happy with the choice I made," the Friulian prospect confessed at the Tour de France EFGH Singapore Criterium, where, with a 6th place behind renowned sprinters like Milan, Philipsen, and Girmay, he confirmed the good pedaling glimpsed in South America during a world championship that was certainly special for him.

"The World Championship was definitely a beautiful experience, and I can say I was very fortunate to live it because not all first-year Under riders like me get the chance to do so. With Sierra, in what was then one of the fastest Madisons in history, we tried to do our best, and considering that the opponents were top-tier and we were the youngest pair at the start, we achieved the maximum we could."

The eleventh place, therefore, obtained by conquering a lap in the early stages of the event, when viewed in perspective, can only represent a starting point to work even more diligently in the coming seasons. The mission will be to try to conquer a prestigious milestone by gradually reducing the gap with the competition.

"We will continue to work on the track in the coming seasons because the goal is to be at the start of the next Olympics. We know it won't be easy, but the hope is to be present in Los Angeles in 2028," Stella explained, who, with this ambitious dream in his pocket, will be called to step up in the coming years, just like his track adventure companion Juan David Sierra.

"I undoubtedly have a good relationship with Sierra. We've known each other for a couple of years now and manage to work well together. His character is a bit different from mine, but on the track, we work well, and this is an essential aspect for achieving results in a Madison," said the 2006 Italian class rider, ready to make a name for himself in the ovals following in the footsteps of the one he didn't hesitate to define as his track idol: Elia Viviani.

"For me, being present in Chile at his last career race, which ended with a victory, was incredibly exciting," Stella admitted, destined to compete against Viviani himself in Ghent in what will be his last appointment before starting to think about 2026.

"My off-season won't be particularly long because, after participating in the Singapore and Saitama Criteriums, I'll take a week of rest at home and then immediately fly to Belgium for the Six Days. Then, two weeks later, it will already be time for the first team training camp."

Given this packed schedule, it's not yet certain what the highlight events of Stella's calendar will be. While still riding for UAE's Devo, he should "do a few more races with the World Tour" compared to the season he's about to conclude, which has fully satisfied him.

"I can't complain about 2025 because it was my first season among the Under 23s, and I've already managed to gain some experience with the World Tour formation. I hope to continue like this and next year, perhaps, succeed in doing even better, fighting for a good result in some classics and winning a few more races than I did this season."